Author, Institution: Laima Zakaraitė, Kaunas University of Technology
Science area, field of science: Social Sciences, Political Sciences, S002
Research Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Vaidas Morkevičius (Kaunas University of Technology, Social Sciences, Political Sciences, S002)
Research Advisor: Prof. Dr. Gintautas Mažeikis (Vytautas Magnus University, Social Sciences, Political Sciences, S002)
Dissertation Defence Board of Political Sciences Science Field:
Prof. Dr. Auksė Balčytienė (Vytautas Magnus University, Social Sciences, Political Sciences, S002) – chairperson
Prof. Dr. Andrius Bielskis (Kaunas University of Technology, Social Sciences, Political Sciences, S002)
Prof. Dr. Dovilė Budrytė (Georgia Gwinnett College, USA, Social Sciences, Political Sciences, S002)
Prof. Dr. Saulius Keturakis (Kaunas University of Technology, Humanities, Philosophy, H001)
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ingrida Unikaitė-Jakuntavičienė (Vytautas Magnus University, Social Sciences, Political Sciences, S002)
Dissertation defence meeting will be at Rectorate Hall of Kaunas University of Technology (K. Donelaičio 73-402, Kaunas)
The doctoral dissertation is available at the library of Kaunas University of Technology (Gedimino 50, Kaunas) and on the internet
© L. Zakaraitė, 2026 “The text of the thesis may not be copied, distributed, published, made public, including by making it publicly available on computer networks (Internet), reproduced in any form or by any means, including, but not limited to, electronic, mechanical or other means. Pursuant to Article 25(1) of the Law on Copyright and Related Rights of the Republic of Lithuania, a person with a disability who has difficulties in reading a document of a thesis published on the Internet, and insofar as this is justified by a particular disability, shall request that the document be made available in an alternative form by e-mail to doktorantura@ktu.lt.”
Annotation: This dissertation examines manifestations of moral imagination in Lithuanian parliamentary debates during three focusing events: the COVID‑19 pandemic, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the migrant crisis. Grounded in a constructivist framework, moral imagination is operationalised into three observable components: recognition of affected groups, articulation of alternative courses of action, and inter‑party unity. The study develops a conceptual model adapting philosophical and organisational definitions for political‑discourse analysis, and applies a qualitative content‑analytic, processual design to Seimas plenary speeches across temporal windows from event onset to attenuation. Key findings show systematic variation by crisis type and phase. The pandemic produced the strongest and most durable moral‑imagination profile (≈12 months), with broad group recognition, detailed alternative proposals, and sustained cross‑party consensus. The war elicited an initial unity‑oriented response that narrowed into threat‑framing and declined over ≈10 months. The migrant crisis manifested the weakest, short‑lived expression (≈1 month), dominated by security frames and fragmented unity. Individual deviations from party lines indicate moral imagination can occasion compromise in high‑intensity moments. Contributions include an empirically tractable model for political science, evidence of situational and adaptive moral imagination, and implications for bridging moral reasoning and party dynamics. Methodological recommendations and practical implications for parliamentary crisis governance are discussed. Limitations concern focus on plenary speech, qualitative subjectivity, and contextual specificity.