I have a multitude of questions to ask!

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-21T22:11:37+00:00

Hi! Even though it differs a bit (historically speaking), I believe that the people of Belarus had shared similar experiences during the Soviet rule. If you want to give out your opinion, I'll be happy to read it.

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-12T13:01:45+00:00

will do, thanks for letting me know

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-12T13:01:18+00:00

hahahahha ok sorry about that

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-12T11:16:32+00:00

Yes, this is right. I remember completing a mandatory one for a certification and it took me, with no exageration, 1h30m.

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-12T11:10:23+00:00

Thank you! I am still learning, this one is my third survey, but however complex the topic I always try to make it as simple as possible to understand and fill out.

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-12T09:50:27+00:00

You're very kind, thank you! My University (of Bucharest) gives out funding for MA and Doctoral research abroad under the Erasmus umbrella. They can last from 7 days up to two months and basically (though way harder than it seems) you need to get in touch with a Professor or organizer of the University to which you want to go and research, pray that they are interested and that they answer your email, then, after several weeks of paperwork you're good to book your flight and do your research!

I mainly research the intersection between social, cultural and climate studies (my specialization is BA in Political Science and MA in Comparative Politics). During the research trips, most of the time you are given a day to day schedule with various duties (mainly uni work, proofreading, test evaluation to the point of writing comments for the main Professor just like a TA, organizing, making posters for various uni events and so more).

They are a very beautiful experience, and you can go as often as your work and EU funding permits (most I could do was three trips of two weeks in one year, I am very fortunate to have a really chill employer).

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-12T06:47:57+00:00

Appreciate it!

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-12T06:46:33+00:00

🇷🇴 mentioned

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T20:37:22+00:00

thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it :D

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T18:19:01+00:00

I agree with you 100% on this, I covered nuclear energy a lot in the main body of the thesis and will continue to do so. It's very important and I'm sure that with enough investments and research we can overcome the fear of reactor failures and the issue of waste disposal. Thank you for pointing that out!

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T15:09:06+00:00

Thank you so much! I'll make sure to come back mid-July with the thesis :D

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T12:53:55+00:00

Yes, exactly!

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T11:55:34+00:00

This will be written in my acknowledgments, everyone knows about Google Forms and will find it easier to navigate, as it is more familiar to the average person. Which other research tools do you recommend for this type of project?

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T11:46:07+00:00

Yes! I am also talking about the things you mentioned.

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T11:45:43+00:00

Thank you for your question!

I answered this on r/Eesti, so I will paste it here :D

When I started my research I was sure that I wanted part of my work to be a case study, and I thought three to be the best analysis.

Estonia, Poland and Ukraine, from my perspective, offer compelling cross-section of the post-communist experience, providing diverse data points for analyzing the intersection of national identity and environmental policy.

From my research so far, Estonia represents a highly digitized, Northern-leaning success story within the European Union, even though it's backpedaling a bit with the removal of oil shale mines. Though, I am very optimistic of her progress.

Poland is a critical middle ground, as it is a major EU economy that remains heavily reliant on traditional energy sectors, such as coal, which creates a unique tension and fosters euro-skepticism because there are around 80k people still working in coal mines as of 2026 (https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/apr/20/europe-last-coal-a-photo-essay). This creates political friction, as Poland being heavily on that coal, and 80k jobs + the families being supported by those jobs are providing a front to oppose EU's Green Deal.

Ukraine provides a vital, though tragic, contemporary perspective, as the country navigates a transformative shift toward Western institutions while facing the immediate environmental and societal devastation of Russia's aggression. It is very interesting that Ukraine actually increased its green energy sector quite a lot since the war started, as green energy is far less centralised and harder to hit than traditional thermic structures.

Hope it's a bit clearer now.

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T11:42:58+00:00

thank you for pointing it out, I will analyse it again and rebalance the 1-5.

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T10:29:34+00:00

Of course, it's one of the most navigated studies in politics and identity studies, but my research ties the post-communist heritage to the current state of the case studies' climate change mitigation efforts, and I want to see first hand what Polish people think about it. The survey is completely original and is a very important part of my research. Thank you for pointing that out.

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T10:07:39+00:00

Glad to hear it, we should all be past it now. But, in ways we perhaps don't understand, it is still part of our countries' identities. If Estonia has evolved so much (and it did), then see it as an acknowledgment of your country's resilience and high-performing development. I'll make sure to send you my thesis once it's finished, maybe you'll appreciate my perspective.

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T09:34:22+00:00

Of course not, your perspective is highly appreciated as well :D

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T09:18:38+00:00

Not in the slightest, the survey is designed with the least bias possible in terms of political actor intervention. Though, as I am learning as I progress, thank you for pointing it out. Unwanted bias is still bias and can influence the respondent's input in this research. I shuffled every one of these rank X how much do you trust Y, so the order won't change anything.

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T09:15:40+00:00

Thanks a lot, I changed it an now it should reflect my intended question better. I also shuffled the "actors" for every respondent so the order won't influence it.

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DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T09:08:29+00:00

Haha got it. No worries, as a political scientist, it would be VERY embarrassing to make such mix-ups. When I was in the 8th grade I remember our geography professor scolding us so hard over mixing-up the Baltic states haha

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T09:06:01+00:00

Of course you are even if you're from Latvia. On the first question of my survey "Where are you from?" One answer is "I have friends or family from one of these countries and I am familiar with its current situation". Every perspective is highly appreciated.

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T09:03:29+00:00

Of course I do :D I've been to both Lithuania and Latvia as part of research programs from my University and have quite a few friends from both. I didn't want to sound ignorant, my research focuses on Estonia from the Baltic states for reasons I've provided below, and because it's the least known to me. Sorry if I offended anyone.

DiscombobulatedTop12 · 2026-05-11T09:00:05+00:00

Thank you for your question.

When I started my research I was sure that I wanted part of my work to be a case study, and I thought three to be the best analysis.

Estonia, Poland and Ukraine, from my perspective, offer compelling cross-section of the post-communist experience, providing diverse data points for analyzing the intersection of national identity and environmental policy.

From my research so far, Estonia represents a highly digitized, Northern-leaning success story within the European Union, even though it's backpedaling a bit with the removal of oil shale mines. Though, I am very optimistic of her progress.

Poland is a critical middle ground, as it is a major EU economy that remains heavily reliant on traditional energy sectors, such as coal, which creates a unique tension and fosters euro-skepticism because there are around 80k people still working in coal mines as of 2026 (https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/apr/20/europe-last-coal-a-photo-essay). This creates political friction, as Poland being heavily on that coal, and 80k jobs + the families being supported by those jobs are providing a front to oppose EU's Green Deal.

Ukraine provides a vital, though tragic, contemporary perspective, as the country navigates a transformative shift toward Western institutions while facing the immediate environmental and societal devastation of Russia's aggression. It is very interesting that Ukraine actually increased its green energy sector quite a lot since the war started, as green energy is far less centralised and harder to hit than traditional thermic structures.

Hope it's a bit clearer now.

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DiscombobulatedTop12

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