At their summit in Brussels in June 2021, NATO leaders invited Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to lead the process of drafting a new strategic concept, expected to be agreed at their next meeting in Spain in 2022. NATO is challenged by Russia, China, and the south. Can its new concept find a balanced response?
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Thirty years ago, the collapse of the Soviet Union opened the door for three Baltic states to step on the pathway to independence, democracy, and prosperity. But the door did not open by itself.
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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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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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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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The discussion about Europe’s ability to forge a more independent route in international affairs has spilled over from the realm of defence to other areas such as foreign policy, trade, digital and health.
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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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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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A day or two after the storming of the Capitol in Washington, some of the political debate turned to whether it was right that a private company should be the one silencing president Donald Trump. He lost his Twitter account, and soon most other social media had cancelled his accounts.
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Spring 2020 posed a test to the regional cooperation of the Nordic-Baltic region.
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