scholarly journals Destabilization in Belarus: Role of the Baltic States

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-71
Author(s):  
V. Olenchenko
Keyword(s):  
International Community ◽  
Separate Analysis ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Supporting Function ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Practical Conclusion ◽  
Local Opposition ◽  
The Baltic

In Belarus, since August 2020, there has been an open confrontation between the Belarusian authorities and the local opposition, which organizes protest actions and seeks to attract the attention of the international community. A number of countries support the opposition and, allegedly advocating its rights interfere in the internal affairs of Belarus. The Baltic states are the most publicly active. The article examines the content of the Baltic intervention in the Belarusian political processes. The method of separate analysis of the motives, grounds and prospects for the participation of the Baltic states in the Belarusian destabilization is used. The results of the study show that the Baltic states do not have effective tools to influence the situation in Belarus, but actively generate support for the opposition, performing a supporting function for the beneficiary countries. The practical conclusion is that Belarus should change the algorithm of bilateral relations with the Baltic states.

External Threat and Democracy: The Role of NATO Revisited

2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 413-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas M. Gibler ◽  
Jamil A. Sewell
Keyword(s):  
Regime Type ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Democratic Transitions ◽  
Territorial Sovereignty ◽  
External Threat ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Threat Levels ◽  
Determining Factor ◽  
Former Soviet Republics

This article examines the role of NATO in aiding democratic transitions and survival in the former Soviet republics. The authors argue that the level of external threat is a determining factor in centralization, militarization, and ultimately regime type. States tend to be democratic or are likely to make the transition toward democracy when threat levels are low, while autocracies are more likely to be found in states targeted by higher levels of threat. Building on recent findings examining the link between democracies and alliance, the authors demonstrate that NATO has been an effective guarantor of territorial sovereignty and independence in the Baltic states, Ukraine, and Moldova, reducing the level of threat experienced by each state, thus assuring the survival of decentralized and democratic governments. Former Soviet republics targeted by high levels of threat have reverted to or maintained centralized, autocratic forms of government.

scholarly journals Russian soft power in the Baltic States through the lens of research: traditions, competition, confrontation

Baltic Region ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 107-124
Author(s):  
Vladislav V. Vorotnikov ◽  
Natalia A. Ivanova
Keyword(s):  
Mass Culture ◽  
Soft Power ◽  
Russian Language ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Hard Power ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Bilateral Relations ◽  
Russian Speakers ◽  
The Baltic

In this article, we aim to analyse the research discourse in the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) as regards Russian soft power, which is considered as hard power, and to compare the theses that dominate this discourse with the actual interactions between Russia and the three states in media, education, and culture. Each Baltic country has built a system of political and legal restrictions to diminish the effect of Russian soft power, which is considered in terms of hard power, i.e. as a threat to national security. The current forms of Russian soft power are becoming less productive in the region and their use in the negative political context of bilateral relations has the opposite effect for Russia – the country loses in reputation and image. The main factor at play is the information content of the Russian-language media space. At odds with the historical and political views of a significant part of the Baltic States’ ruling class, it is becoming the target of counteraction. At the same time, Russian high and mass culture and, partly, educational services are in demand from both Baltic Russian speakers and ethnic Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians. Our analysis shows that the views of Baltic researchers that Russian soft power is politics-driven and foreign to the region are exaggerated and biased. In its turn, Russian soft power in the Baltics retains the potential to aid the country’s foreign policy, being a complement to the latter rather than its direct tool.

scholarly journals Małe państwo a kryzys

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-219
Author(s):  
Wojciech Łysek
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Presidential Elections ◽  
Small State ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Baltic

This article is dedicated to the attitudes of the Baltic States towards the protests in Belarus in August 2020. The analysis uses the category of a small state. It seems to best characterise the role of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in international relations. The first part of this article describes the relations of these three countries with Belarus before 2020. Then, the emphasis is put on the instruments and strategies which have been used by the Baltic States towards Belarus since the presidential elections in August 2020. The article discusses the role of a regional, expert, hidden subjectivity using multilateral formats, good services, entrepreneurial and silent diplomacy. In his considerations, the author presents the reactions of the authorities and societies. The article is based on state documents, analyses, politicians’ speeches, press materials and literature on the subject.

scholarly journals 78 Improving road safety in the baltic states- role of strategies

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (Suppl 2) ◽  
pp. A30.1-A30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dago Antov ◽  
Juris Smirnovs
Keyword(s):  
Road Safety ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
The Baltic

scholarly journals THE ROLE OF THE FOREIGN BANKS IN THE 5 EU MEMBER STATES / UŽSIENIO BANKŲ VAIDMENS 5 EUROPOS SĄJUNGOS VALSTYBĖSE TYRIMAS

2012 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 189-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mejra Festić
Keyword(s):  
Capital Adequacy ◽  
Foreign Banks ◽  
Risk Exposure ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Recent Financial Crisis ◽  
Domestic Banks ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Derivative Products

The article tests if foreign banks have lowered their market share in the Baltic States, Romania and Bulgaria during the recent financial crisis after 2007, due to the perception of risk exposure in local markets. It has been proved that, the credit supply by foreign banks in the Baltic States, Romania and Bulgaria has remained relatively stable during the latest crisis by TSLS method. Foreign ownership generally utilizes derivative products more than domestic banks in the NMSs because they have more expertise in hedging and can diversify risks effectively with their larger parent banks in their home country. The reaction of foreign banks abroad depends on the capital adequacy of the parent bank and the business opportunities in the host economies. Santrauka Straipsnyje analizuojamas užsienio bankų vaidmuo penkiose Europos Sąjungai priklausančiose valstybėse – Baltijos šalyse, Rumunijoje ir Bulgarijoje. Autorius tyrimui pasirinko užsienio bankų užimamos rinkos dalies vertinimą ir ekonomikos krizės poveikio nustatymą šių bankų veiklos rodikliams bei rinkos daliai. Gauti rezultatai parodė, kad kreditų pasiūla, teikiama užsienio bankų Baltijos šalyse, Rumunijoje ir Bulgarijoje, išliko palyginti stabili. Tai galima susieti su tuo, kad užsienio bankai taiko ir naudoja išvestinius produktus, motyvuodami tuo, jog turi daugiau patirties ir gali diversifikuoti riziką, efektyviai naudodami juos remiančių savos šalies („motininių“) bankų finansinius išteklius. Tyrimas taip pat parodė, kad užsienio bankų reakcija į rinkos pasikeitimus vienoje ar kitoje valstybėje tiesiogiai priklauso nuo „motininio“ banko kapitalo pakankamumo ir ekonominių verslo sąlygų toje šalyje.

Reinventing ‘new’ Europe: Baltic perspectives on transatlantic security reconfigurations

2013 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Mälksoo ◽  
Margarita Šešelgytė
Keyword(s):  
Debt Crisis ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
The United States ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Transatlantic Security ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Security Configuration

This article examines the self-positioning of the three Baltic states in international politics in relation to the major structural pressures challenging the status quo of the transatlantic security configuration. The constitutive role of the Russia-Georgia war of 2008, the global economic recession, the debt crisis in the eurozone, and the shifting policy preferences and force projection of the United States towards Asia are explored as the key sources of the emerging Baltic security predicament. The empirical conclusions of the poststructuralist discourse analysis conducted for this study demonstrate how the Baltic states, in particular Estonia, have recently come to redefine the contents of ‘new’ Europe, thereby shifting the extant fault lines within the European Union.

Professor Uluots, the Estonian Government in Exile and the Continuity of the Republic of Estonia in International Law

2000 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 289-316
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Soviet Union ◽  
International Law ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Legal Practice ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
Foreign Occupation ◽  
The Republic ◽  
The Baltic

AbstractInternational legal practice in the 20th century is rich in challenging cases of state continuity and extinction. One of those cases is the preservation of the continuity of the Baltic states throughout 51 years of foreign occupation and annexation. After decades of non-recognition of Soviet annexation by leading Western powers, the present-day Baltic republics have not been seen as successor states of the Soviet Union, but as identical with the independent Baltic states of 1918–1940. How could the continuity of the Baltic states be preserved, especially as the Soviet Union had effectively and seemingly “forever”established its control over the Baltic republics? This article focuses on the Estonian situation, laying out the events of 1944 which led to the proclamation of the new constitutional government, and after the country was for the second time occupied by the Soviet army, to the creation of an Estonian government in exile. One of the main questions asked in this article is whether and how the Estonian government in exile contributed to the preservation of the continuity of the Republic of Estonia. Both legal and political aspects played a role in the preservation of the continuity of the Republic of Estonia, and for various reasons, the role of the Estonian government in exile was not exactly that of “the” preserver of state continuity.

scholarly journals The Role of the Elites in Choosing the Foreign Policy Priorities of the Baltic States

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 603-616
Author(s):  
Vadim A. Smirnov
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Soviet Period ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
Baltic States ◽  
Political Transformations ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Political Interaction ◽  
The Baltic

The author analyzed the role of the elites of the Baltic countries in the choice of foreign policy priorities in the period after the declaration of independence. The process of determining the course towards the Euro-Atlantic is inscribed in the sub-regional context, taking into account the current Russian-Baltic political interaction. The study of power groups was carried out on the basis of an examination of large-scale socio-political transformations along with an analysis of individual practices. A comprehensive study of the transformation of the political elites of Baltic states as small countries, involves consideration of both the domestic and foreign policy aspects. The thesis is put forward that, despite a number of differences in the Baltic states, since the 1990s there were similar processes of transformation of political elites. The elite formation was due to the principle of state continuity as continuity with the pre-war regimes of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia and as a break with the Soviet period, including the EuroAtlantic course as the key priority of the foreign policy. The consolidation of deep divisions in the societies of the Baltic states - ethnic, linguistic, political - was the result of the elite struggle for power in the 1990s. After the implementation of the idea of Back to the West the elites of the Baltic states replaced it with a Russian threat, which made it possible to postpone overcoming internal divisions fraught with weakening of their power.

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