Intentional homicides in Baltic and Nordic States 1990-2021
Abstract
The main goal of the article was to analyse data on homicides in Estonia
and the other Baltic states in the years 1990–2021 and to conceptualize
these changes. The level and dynamics of intentional homicides committed
in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania during the last three decades
were assessed to highlight their similarities and differences. The situation
in the field of homicides in the Baltic states was put next to the
three Nordic countries: Finland, Sweden, and Norway. Evaluating the
number of intentional homicides in the three Nordic countries, we see
that the picture is radically different. The homicides committed in the
Nordic countries during the last thirty years are characterised by a persistently
low rate, without substantial changes. A hypothesis was set and
controlled according to which the dynamics of intentional homicides
committed in the Baltic states largely coincide with the mirror image of
the j curve.