Ieva Raubiško

This article proposes to introduce ‘well-being’ as a new concept in Latvian social sciences and humanities research. Despite the wide international use of ‘well-being’ in the academic and applied studies focusing on human development in the last two decades, no equivalent has so far been created in the Latvian language, preferring such terms as ‘individual/social welfare’ and ‘quality of life’ instead.

The article discusses some of the most influential theories underlying the human development and well-being research, focusing mostly on Amartya Sen’s and Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities approach and Len Doyal and Ian Gough’s theory of human need. Having reviewed some of the diverse well-being studies abroad and in Latvia, the author suggests a new definition of well-being for usage in Latvian academic and applied research. The definition takes after one offered by the Wellbeing in Developing Countries group at the University of Bath (2002-2008), which looks at well-being as a social state and process whereby one’s human needs are met, and one can pursue meaningful goals and achieve a satisfactory quality of life.

Finally, the article discusses how the proposed concept of well-being is applied in the research project on changing development strategies and cultural spaces of Latvia’s rural inhabitants. Providing a short analysis of people’s ideas about their place/ space in the Latvian countryside, the author shows how a social anthropological look at the ideas, meanings, and practices might contribute to a productive study of well-being in Latvia.