Nordic-Baltic Region

CHINE NOUVELLE / SIPA / Scanpix

Nordic-Baltic Connectivity with Asia via the Arctic: Assessing Opportunities and Risks

The Arctic is occupying an increasingly important position in connectivity between Asia and the Nordic-Baltic countries. This is not least because climate change opens up new economic opportunities to make use of the region’s vast resources and develop the northern transport routes. Along with possibilities, the need to ensure peaceful, norms-based and environmentally sustainable development in the Artic region poses a complex challenge.

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Alexander Stubb: I See the Baltics and the Nordics as One Entity

After seeing the world through the lenses of Finnish politics, experiencing the specifics of Nordic cooperation and shaping the future of the European Union, Alexander Stubb is back in academia. He considers himself a big fan of the Baltics and the Nordics, but not of regionalisation of the European Union, even though he was one of the initiators of the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region.

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The border between Sweden and Norway at Kornsjø has been closed in an effort to stop the spread of the Coronavirus (Covid-19).

Nordic Cooperation Troubled by Loss of Political Weight

Nordic cooperation constitutes one of the oldest and most traditional forms of regional interaction in Europe. Based on joint values and interests, it builds primarily on consultation, coordination and harmonisation without affecting the sovereignty of individual countries. Despite its achievements, Nordic cooperation currently faces various challenges and problems in regard to its political relevance which have become particularly apparent during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, its future is not all gloom-ridden.

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Dovilė Budrytė: All Is Well if Nobody Starts Asking for More Prestige than Others

The three small states on the shores of the Baltic Sea are not geopolitical heavyweights in the global arena but working together they manage to achieve their strategic goals. Though the Baltic three seem to be destined to remain close, some rifts and open dissatisfactions have appeared and might once more damage the currently warm relations, says Dr Dovilė Budrytė, a professor of political science at Georgia Gwinnett College (U.S.).

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Growing Military Activity in the Arctic and Baltic Regions

The last six months have offered numerous examples indicating that the level of military activity in the Arctic and Baltic regions continues to increase slowly but steadily. Russian and Western forces have in different ways increased their presence in these contested regions and nations are strengthening relevant military capabilities.

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Getting by in a Troubled Arctic: The Kingdom of Denmark and the Great Powers

Less than a decade ago, the Arctic region was widely regarded as an extraordinary, peaceful region. Brought about by a combination of a harsh geography incentivising cooperation over conflict and by the commitment of the Arctic countries themselves, the region was hailed in many quarters as exceptional, a place where the traditional rules of power politics had been, if not dismantled, then at least reined in. This is no longer the case.

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