Resurgent Russia pushes Nordic states towards West

2015 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Security Policies ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Sharp Change ◽  
Baltic Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
Defence Cooperation ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The Cold War

Subject Outlook for Nordic-NATO defence cooperation. Significance The Russian intervention in Ukraine and assertive stance against NATO -- particular in the Baltic Sea region -- has pushed the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden to reassess their defence and security policies in order to be better prepared to manage crises and deter aggression in northern Europe. This constitutes a sharp change in strategic outlook, as the Nordic-Baltic region has been characterised by low tensions, stability and continued economic and political integration since the end of the Cold War. Impacts Nordic participation in multilateral international operations may wane as their defence focus shifts to the Baltic region. Scandinavian procurement programmes present commercial opportunities to defence and aerospace firms. Prioritising bilateral security arrangements may fragment a unified US-Nordics approach to regional security. Closer security ties with the West are likely to compromise Scandinavia's negotiating position with Moscow on other issues.

Finnish-Swedish military ties are set to deepen

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Foreseeable Future ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive View ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
The Past ◽  
Defence Policy ◽  
Defence Cooperation ◽  
The Baltic

Subject Swedish and Finnish defence policy. Significance Sweden and Finland have intensified defence cooperation in recent years, most recently by signing a defence pact on July 9. This comes on top of other efforts to promote stronger Nordic defence collaboration with neighbouring Denmark and Norway, the Baltic states, as well as with the United States and NATO around regional security issues. Impacts Russia is likely to use airspace violations to test Swedish and Finnish military readiness. While Sweden and Finland will deepen collaboration with NATO, membership remains off the table for the foreseeable future. Finland supports stronger EU defence initiatives such as PESCO. Sweden has traditionally been sceptical of EU efforts but has adopted a more positive view over the past two years.

Russia worries will promote closer Sweden-US ties

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Security Cooperation ◽  
Cooperation Agreement ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
Defence Cooperation ◽  
Security Relationship ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Industrial Collaboration

Subject Sweden-US defence cooperation. Significance The defence cooperation agreement signed on June 8 between the United States and Sweden lends political weight and direction to a bilateral defence and security relationship that is rapidly changing and has taken on new importance in both Stockholm and Washington as the security situation in the Baltic Sea region continues to be turbulent and contested. The agreement will enable more direct bilateral cooperation between the United States and Sweden in the fields of training and exercises, capabilities development, research and development, and industrial collaboration. Impacts Regular exercises with NATO allies and security partners like Sweden will see greater numbers of US troops in the Baltic region. Industrial collaboration between Swedish and US defence firms will present commercial opportunities. Finland may pursue a similar bilateral framework for security cooperation with the United States.

scholarly journals The Intermarium As a Pivotal Geopolitical Buzzword

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 7-27
Author(s):  
Ostap Kushnir
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Political Thought ◽  
Regional Security ◽  
Founding Fathers ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Current Stage

This article focuses on historical and contemporary connotations of the Intermarium concept—Ukrainian and Polish academic and political thought on how to organize and govern the space between the Baltic and Black seas—employing the ideas of Józef Piłsudski, Józef Beck, Michał Czajkowski (Mykhailo Chaikovs'kyi), Mykhailo Drahomanov, members of the Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius, and other intellectuals. In this context, it traces Ukraine’s and Poland’s attempts to construct Intermarium-type intergovernmental frameworks in the aftermath of the Cold War. It also examines the current stage of Ukrainian-Polish co-operation—the latter being regarded by Intermarium founding fathers as a vital precondition for this framework to be realized. In this respect, the article considers bilateral advancements in political, economic, cultural, and security spheres. As the emergence of a Ukrainian-Polish institutionalized linchpin is impossible in the contemporary geopolitical architecture, the article proposes that the term “Intermarium” has become ambiguous. If by chance the Intermarium comes into being as a defensive alliance today, it might bring more harm than benefit to the regional security.

Die Wiederkehr der Landes- und Bündnisverteidigung

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Information Warfare ◽  
Baltic Region ◽  
German Army ◽  
Legal Questions ◽  
New Challenges ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
Crimean Crisis

From homeland defence to crisis intervention—this statement describes the conceptual transformation of the German army and NATO since 1990. The Crimean crisis in 2014 changed this situation, with homeland defence becoming a major concern again. However, the security policy environment, potential threats and the structure of the army and NATO have little in common with the traditional scenario of the Cold War. Entirely new challenges need to be dealt with—from new forms of conflict (asymmetrical and hybrid conflicts, cyber- and information warfare) to NATO’s geography with its vulnerable periphery in the Baltic region. These challenges raise new legal questions, which are discussed in this conference volume. With contributions by Rainer Meyer zum Felde; Wolff Heintschel von Heinegg; Stephan Hobe, Rada Popova; Tassilo Singer; Björnstjern Baade; Jan Arno Hessbruegge; Stefan Oeter; Michael Teichmann

Sweden and the Baltic Sea Region

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rikard Bengtsson
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
European Level ◽  
Baltic Region ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The Eu

Swedish policy towards the Baltic Sea region in the post-Cold-War period reflects an internationalist approach aimed at institutionalizing regional cooperative mechanisms, along with a generic interest in managing relations with Russia. The Baltic region is of significant strategic interest to Sweden. From a strategic foreign policy perspective, the institutions-based approach to regional cooperation can be viewed as a formula for Sweden to multilateralize relations with Russia while simultaneously reaping economic and security benefits that stem from regional and European-level interdependencies. The roles that follow from this approach—as regional integrator and as normative critic of Russia—are increasingly enacted through European channels, primarily the EU.

Deeper Finnish-US defence ties would irritate Russia

2016 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cooperation Agreement ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
Bilateral Cooperation ◽  
Defence Cooperation ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Ukraine Crisis

Subject Finnish-US defence agreement. Significance In response to growing Russian assertiveness in the Baltic Sea region since the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, Finland has pursued closer cooperation with NATO and the United States. It signed a bilateral cooperation agreement with the United States on October 7. Impacts Cooperation in areas such as training and exercises, information sharing and joint research and development will increase. The agreement does not include any binding mutual defence commitments. Finland is likely to push for greater defence cooperation with the EU.

scholarly journals The protection of the sea as a cooperation area case in the Baltic Sea region

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-136
Author(s):  
Tiziana Melchiorre
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Baltic Sea ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Environmental Cooperation ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The Cold War

This article investigates how the geopolitical interests of states in the Baltic Sea region have determined the emergence and the development of environmental cooperation around the Baltic Sea since the late 1970s. It is shown that the Nordic and the Baltic countries have played a key role in this process and that other actorsm such as the European Union and the United States, also influence environmental cooperation because their geopolitical interests contribute to shape the cooperative links in the region. The United Nations with its legislation and its policies reinforces cooperation in the field. It is also argued that the case of environment around the Baltic Sea is one of the rare successful attempts to establish closer links among states in a particular issue area during the Cold War in Europe. Spanish Este artículo investiga cómo los intereses geopolíticos de los estados de la región del Mar Báltico han determinado la aparición y el desarrollo de la cooperación medioambiental en torno al Mar Báltico desde finales de la década de los setenta. El artículo muestra que tanto los países nórdicos como los países bálticos han jugado un papel clave en este proceso, así como otros actores, entre ellos la Unión Europea y los Estados Unidos, los cuales han influido también en esta cooperación ambiental debido a que sus intereses geopolíticos contribuyeron a dar forma a los vínculos de cooperación en la región. Las Naciones Unidas, a través de su legislación y sus políticas, refuerzan la cooperación en este campo. También se argumenta que el caso de la cooperación medioambiental en el Mar Báltico es uno de los pocos intentos exitosos para establecer relaciones más estrechas entre los estados en un área particular durante la Guerra Fría en Europa. French L'article analyse la naissance et le développement de la coopération dans le domaine de l'environnement sous l'influence des intérêts géopolitiques des États dans la région de la Mer Baltique à partir des années 1970. Les pays nordiques et le pays baltes ont joué un rôle fondamental dans ce processus ainsi que l'UE et les États-Unis dont les intérêts géopolitiques contribuent à former la coopération régionale. Les Nations Unies renforcent la coopération dans ce domaine grâce à leur législation et à leurs politiques. Ce cas de coopération dans le domaine de l'environnement constitue une des rares tentatives réussies pour établir des liens étroits entre les États durant la période de la Guerre Froide en Europe.

Unfree labour by free peasants: labour service in the Swedish and Finnish countryside, from the late seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries

Rural History ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-134
Author(s):  
Marjatta Rahikainen
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
Early Modern ◽  
Early Modern Europe ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Post Cold War ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
Mental Map ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The Cold War ◽  
East West

Abstract This article discusses the received image of free Swedish and Finnish peasants, charting parallels with peasants in the Baltic region. It draws upon the post-Cold War discussion of free and unfree rural labour in early modern Europe. The discussion maintains that the labour service by free Swedish and Finnish peasant landholders and peasant tenants at its heaviest point may have been on a par with the corvée in the early modern Baltic provinces. It is suggested that the Cold War mental map may have led to an overstatement of the East-West distinction between peasants’ circumstances in the Baltic Sea region.

scholarly journals The evolution of US political priorities in the Baltic sea region in the 2010s

Baltic Region ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 4-25
Author(s):  
P. E. Smirnov
Keyword(s):  
Baltic Sea ◽  
Regional Cooperation ◽  
Eu Enlargement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Baltic Region ◽  
The Baltic Sea ◽  
Baltic Sea Region ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The Cold War

The fundamental geopolitical changes in the Baltic Sea 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. It demonstrates how Washington is planning to reduce the vulnerability of certain nations of the region to Russia’s military and non-military influence and what steps the US and its NATO allies have taken in this direction. It is argued that, although the Western military buildup in the Baltic Sea region and the US attempts to neutralise Russian ‘hybrid’ instruments are unable to increase substantially the defence capabilities of NATO allies in the Baltic, the security dynamics in the region are likely to turn it into an arena for a struggle between Russia and the West. Russia will benefit from seeing the Baltic region nations not as tools in the Russian-US confrontation, but as partners in regional cooperation aware of their own interests.

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