Could we think in broader terms, not just from the narrow viewpoint of a nation state? This question emerges in relation to the hordes of refugees flooding Europe. Erkki Bahovski, editor of Diplomaatia tries to think imperially and reminds us of times when several nations lived side by side within single empires.
“Those who say “Multiculturalism is dead” ignore the fact that European history was the story of multiculturalism up to the 20th century when nation states emerged,” writes Bahovski.
Harri Tiido, the ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to the Republic of Poland, writes that the Russian aggression in Ukraine allows the states in this region, i.e., Baltic and Scandinavian countries and Poland, to overcome old barriers and start closer cooperation. “It would be useful to get the official structural units that deal with various cooperational formats and states to communicate more closely with each other in order to facilitate this developmental direction,” writes Tiido.
Lithuanian journalist Vaidas Saldžiūnas explores the changes in Lithuanian society after the Russian aggression in Ukraine. He says that pacifism as a way of life in Lithuania has come to an end, and increasingly more people are voluntarily joining militaristic organisations. Lithuania’s defence policy has also changed as the state has decided to increase the proportion of defence expenditure in the GDP to 2% of the budget.
Richard Weitz, an analyst at the Hudson Institute, writes on why the US is worried about Russia breaching the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) of 1987. “Russia wants to remove hindrances to its geopolitical revival, which includes international treaties now seen as objectionable, in an manner calculated to manoeuvre other parties into appearing responsible for their collapse,” warns Weitz.
Heidi Mõttus, apprentice at the International Centre for Defence Studies, explores in her article Scotland’s endeavours for independence. She writes about how the Scottish independence referendum has influenced the behaviour of the United Kingdom within the European Union, and discusses whether the island nation will stay in the union.
Ago Raudsepp, doctoral student at the University of Tartu, reviews a book that describes Finland during the Cold War through the eyes of Swiss journalists and MP Rait Maruste reviews Lauri Mälksoo’s latest book on Russia and international law.
This article was published in ICDS Diplomaatia magazine.