The Accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO: Geopolitical implications for Russia’s position in the Baltic Sea region
The article examines Sweden’s and Finland’s motives for ending their long-time non-aligned policies and joining NATO after Russia had launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. The two countries’ decision is shown to be in the interest of the United States, which has always sought to fill the geopolitical vacuum reigning after the collapse ...
Military and political cooperation between Germany and Lithuania in the late 2010s to early 2020s
... increasingly positive as Germany has become more involved in deterrence of Russia. This article explores the process of the Bundeswehr troops’ deployment and buildup up to having constituted the ‘core’ of a multinational brigade in Lithuania under NATO’s mandate. The study focuses on the impact of military cooperation on political collaborations, as illustrated by the case of the B3 + 1 format, which has brought together high-ranking public officials from the three Baltic states and Germany ...
Reputation and status in Denmark’s strategic culture
... relations with the United States and achieve the status of a privileged ally. This status would confirm guarantees for Denmark’s national security, provide the country with an opportunity for distinctive influence in decision-making and agenda-setting in NATO, the EU, and transatlantic cooperation. A qualitative content analysis of the 2017—2018, 2019—2020 and 2022 Danish foreign policy strategies was carried out to determine the effect of such expert perceptions on the texts of the guiding foreign ...
France’s strategy in the Baltic region: military and political aspects
... France’s key strategic documents, the government assesses the present-day situation mainly in a negative way, considering Russian actions as the main reason for the militarization of the region and expressing its readiness to show solidarity with NATO allies. On this basis, Paris is gradually increasing its military presence in the Baltic region, which now exceeds its contingents in the Middle East and the Sahel. For example, French forces still participate in the NATO air policing programme as ...
Three Russian Baltic regions in the context of confrontation between Russia and the West
... influence of Russia and Germany, is intended to address important economic challenges [17].
Many researchers acknowledge that the roots of the conflict in the CEE region lie in the American policy of exporting democracy and the ‘open door’ policy of NATO, combined with the strengthening of its eastern flank in military terms. Russia perceived this policy of the West as a manifestation of the U.S. and Western expansion at the expense of its legitimate security interests. Russia was particularly opposed ...
A ‘Secret alliance’ or ‘Freedom from any alliances’? NATO accession debate in Sweden and Finland, 1991—2016
The authors analyze the policy of NATO towards Sweden and Finland, the neutral states of Northern Europe, in 1991—2016. The authors emphasize that Finland and Sweden have always been of high strategic importance for NATO and the EU defence policy. The authors investigate the main areas ...
Assessment of the efficiency of Russian response to the implementation of US missile defence deployment concept in Europe
... http://news. kremlin. ru/ref_notes/461 (accessed 28 June 2011).
4. Gabuev, A. 2011, Vash sektor vozle Russia [Your sector near Russia], Kommersant, 16 July, p. 1—2.
5. Zajavlenie Prezidenta v svjazi s situaciej, kotoraja slozhilas' vokrug sistemy PRO stran NATO v Evrope [Statement by the President in connection with the situation that has developed around NATO missile defence system in Europe], Oficial'nyj
sajt Prezidenta Rossii [Official site of President of Russia], available at:http://kremlin. ru/news/13637 ...
The Republic of Belarus and the Kaliningrad region of Russia as a sub-regional security complex
... visits APS-2 construction site in Poland, U. S. Army, May 11, 2021, URL:
https://www.army.mil/article/246192/405th_afsb_command_team_visits_aps_2_construction_site_in_poland
(accessed 20.06.2022).
34. Zverev, Yu., 2022, Bet on confrontation: the US and NATO are building up military potential in Eastern Europe, Evraziya.Ekspert, April 28, 2022, URL:
https://eurasia.expert/ssha-i-nato-narashchivayut-voennyy-potentsial-v-vostochnoy-evrope/
(accessed 20.06.2022) (in Russ.).
35. Zverev, Yu. 2019, Intimidation ...
The Baltic Sea region and increasing international tension
... Obama at 25th Anniversary of Freedom Day – War-saw, Poland, 2014, The White House, available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2014/06/04/remarks-president-obama-25th-anniversary-freedom-day-warsaw-poland (accessed 21.01.2016).
11. NATO’s Readiness Action Plan, 2015, NATO, available at: http://www.nato. int/nato_static_fl2014/assets/pdf/pdf_2015_12/20151130_1512-factsheet_rap_en.pdf (accessed 21.01.2016).
12. Voennye itogi goda: chem zapomnilsja 2015 god dlja rossijskoj armii ...
The evolution of the military-strategic importance of the Kaliningrad region in the context of relations between Russia and NATO
... latter determines the ratio of the military and civilian components of regional development, as well as the military-strategic significance of the region for Russia, the number and composition of the Russian military forces in the region. In doing so, NATO’s policies and activities, as well as the nature of the relationship between NATO and Russia, play a crucial role. The purpose of the study is to identify how relations with Russia and NATO and the expansion of this military bloc have influenced ...
NATO Policies in the Baltics: Objectives and Priorities
The authors employ geopolitical analysis to identify the core characteristics of NATO’s current policy towards the Baltic Sea region. After the demise of the Soviet Union, the region was considered as one of the safest in terms of military security. However, in the aftermath of the Ukraine crisis, the region has witnessed a growing ...
Russia's geostrategic position in the Baltic area as a threat of naval blockade in the current circumstances
This article utilises a systematic approach for a comprehensive examination of the Baltic Sea region as a geopolitical space and an analysis of geopolitical events (event-analysis) aimed to assess the capabilities of the US and NATO to impose a naval blockade on Russia in the Baltic Sea. This study is made relevant by the growing confrontation between the collective West and Russia, and the provocative anti-Russian rhetoric adopted by official representatives of NATO states....
The military and political situation in the Baltic region in the late 20th/early 21st centuries: the prospects of ‘uneasy peace’
... late 20th/early 21st centuries. This study aims to analyse the security prospects of the Baltic region in view of the changes in the overall geopolitical situation in Europe and in the relations between Russia and its closest neighbours and the leading NATO countries. We examine the ideas and forecasts of international and Russian experts relating to the state and dynamics of military security in the region at the first stage of the Baltics’ membership in NATO. Another focus is on changes in the ...
The Baltic policy of Germany and current international relations
... the country was establishing political, economic, and cultural ties with the new independent states. In the second half of the 1990s, Germany’s foreign policy became less intense. After the accession of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia to the EU and NATO in 2004, certain disagreements started to arise between Germany and the Baltics. It explains the lukewarm relations between them. The Ukraine events brought about a change in Germany’s regional policy. Despite Russia remaining one of the key economic ...
The evolution of US political priorities in the Baltic sea region in the 2010s
... region after the end of the Cold War caused the United States to revise its priorities in that part of the world. The process became especially apparent in the second decade of the 21st century when the Ukraine crisis brought to light the consequences of NATO and EU enlargement to the former Warsaw Treaty allies and the Baltic States. This article shows how the US, motivated by the need to ‘contain’ Russia, was developing its overall approaches to ensuring its political leadership in the Baltic region....
The ‘сool war’ in the Baltic Sea Region: consequences and future scenarios..
The relevance of this topic is determined by the Baltic region playing a special role in the current confrontation between Russia and the West, which is most accurately defined by the term ‘cool war’. Russia borders on the EU and NATO in that region. In this study, I aim to demonstrate the impact of the ‘cool war’ on international relations in the region and explain why the preservation of the status quo is the most likely scenario. I conclude that, in recent years, a certain ...
