Estonia must rethink its future direction

In a rapidly changing and complex world, Estonia requires more than just day-to-day political decisions to navigate its future, according to social scientists Erik Terk, Mati Heidmets, and Marju Lauristin.

They contend that Estonia needs a wide-ranging societal agreement on the future it desires and a method to integrate knowledge, experience, and citizen input into shaping that future. The authors point out that Estonia transformed from a post-socialist periphery to a digital state with living standards approaching the European average within a few decades.

However, they observe that current global challenges, including war, pandemics, and the green transition, have rendered previous development plans obsolete. This raises the pressing question: "What happens to Estonia next?"

The scholars question whether Estonia still possesses a unified roadmap or if its actions are merely reactive. They increasingly hear calls for a new, comprehensive outlook akin to the SE21 initiative, coupled with a broad-based future convention to help the nation maintain its course during turbulent times.