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Tag: Baltic states

Estonia’s local election results turn the clock back to 2007

Estonia’s current political climate is now in a state of flux. While the traditionally largest parties face difficulties maintaining their positions, other groups are taking advantage of their newfound influence. An uncertain period focused on coalition maintenance will likely follow before new parliamentary elections are held in 2027.

November 12, 2025 - Samuel Kramer

Nordic-Baltic total defence: easier said than done

NATO’s newest members Finland and Sweden are already net contributors to Allied security. Well known for their military capability, the two countries also bring a new approach into the Alliance: total defence. While military cooperation is intensifying, civil defence and civil-military cooperation need to be better integrated into Nordic-Baltic regional defence.

Finland and Sweden are known for their so-called “total defence” approach to security, in which national defence is not only a task for the military but for the whole of society. The security concept was primarily developed for three reasons: their history outside of NATO, geographical proximity to the Soviet/Russian threat, and large territories with small populations.

July 8, 2025 - Eric Adamson Minna Ålander

Estonia’s road to comprehensive security

Since regaining independence in 1991, Estonia has undergone a rapid and determined transformation, embracing modernization, democracy and western integration. Yet its path to NATO membership and security reform was anything but straightforward, as it was shaped by regional geopolitics, western hesitations, and the lessons of Nordic neighbours.

Social modernization has been unrelenting since Estonia restored its independence in 1991. During the 1990s and early 2000s, Estonia, like many other post-communist aspirants for European Union and NATO membership, was criticized by its western neighbours for following an overly “modernist” security policy outlook. Re-establishing the armed forces and consolidating border controls dominated its early outlook sometimes at the expense of civil defence, crisis management and cooperative security then prioritized in the West’s shifting post-Cold War security mindset.

July 8, 2025 - Eoin Micheál McNamara

Inside a new Cold War brewing in an Eastern European capital

How decades of geopolitical conflict between Latvia and Russia have resulted in an internal crisis for the young Russian-speaking minority in Riga.

June 12, 2025 - Athan Yanos

What is wrong with Latvia? Why the middle Baltic state lags behind

Latvia has often been overlooked when it comes to the socio-economic advancements made in the Baltics. While neighbours such as Estonia and Lithuania have promoted themselves as technological hubs, the middle Baltic state has lagged behind overall. This position appears to be due to a variety of factors.

The cover of the Latvian weekly current affairs magazine Ir for the last week of November 2024 struck a tone hardly unfamiliar in this neck of the woods: “Why are the Estonians paying less for Rail Baltica but getting it done faster?” Close observers of the nation’s mood, aspirations and insecurities over the three-and-a-bit decades since it restored its independence will have seen comparable sentiments expressed many times.

February 28, 2025 - Will Mawhood

The power of the Baltic Way

August 23rd saw the 35th anniversary of the Baltic Way which started in 1989. It became the symbol of hope and change for the citizens of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as they united, hand-in-hand, forming a human chain of two million citizens, from Tallinn to Vilnius.

September 27, 2024 - Iris Kempe

The Lithuanian Song Festival: 100 years of tradition

Lithuania’s song festival, Dainų šventė, celebrated its 100th anniversary in July this year. It stands as Lithuania’s paramount cultural phenomenon, involving tens of thousands of Lithuanians and several diaspora choirs from around the world. Yet despite sharing similar festivals, the presence of choirs from the other Baltic countries is a rare sight to see.

An old woman blows kisses at the procession from her flat window. She is dressed in national costume and an array of amber beads. Among the crowds lining the streets, other elderly ladies in similar dress sit on benches, too frail to march the three kilometres from Vilnius’s Cathedral Square to Vingis Park, the festival grounds, but keen to be part of the Lithuanian Song Festival parade.

September 16, 2024 - Ottilie Tabberer

Why Baltic security matters

From the perspective of the three Baltic countries, Russia's brutal war in Ukraine has only reinforced the notion that the United States is the key linchpin in the European security order. In the early hours of February 24th 2022, as Russia embarked on levelling Ukrainian cities, Washington called upon the 173rd Airborne Brigade to move swiftly from Italy to Latvia, thus assuring the most exposed Eastern European nations.

September 16, 2024 - Andris Banka

The impact of NATO membership on national security: a 25-year retrospective

Estonia’s accession to NATO in 2004 marked a historical moment that solidified the commitment to collective defence and enhanced security against potential threats, particularly from Russia. NATO membership has undeniably served as a cornerstone in shaping the security landscape of Estonia over the past 25 years.

September 16, 2024 - Nele Loorents

Is Klaipėda worth a war?

In all the eight years since 2014, Moscow has spent time challenging the vigilance of its democratic victims. Despite the sanctions, joint strategic projects with Europe still flourished. One of them, Nord Stream 2, speaks volumes today. Everything was done to destroy the western democracies' ability to resist.

Walking along Nowy Świat Street in Warsaw, everything speaks of prosperity and comfort. Couples in love sip coffee in restaurants, radiating happiness. Families with children stroll, enjoying the weekend. Everyone lives their own life – the government, the opposition, farmers and transporters. The war with Russia is not visible in peaceful Europe, although it is already underway. However, the population of Europe and the political elites of the EU try not to notice it. They are not ready for it. An abstract question could therefore be asked regarding this relative calm: "Is Klaipėda worth a war?"

June 22, 2024 - Oleh Dunda

A central and eastern EU elections summary

While the results of the EU parliamentary elections in Central and Eastern Europe did not lead to political upheaval as seen in France, it is becoming clear that the far-right representation in Strasbourg will increase from this part of Europe.

June 11, 2024 - Ottilie Tabberer

While Western Europeans smell smoke, we see fire

General Martin Herem, commander of the Estonian Armed Forces, explains how Estonia is preparing for possible aggression from Russia and why its approach may differ from the other Baltic countries. Interviewer: Rasa Tapinienė, journalist with LRT.

May 10, 2024 - LRT Martin Herem Rasa Tapinienė

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