Building security in the Baltic Sea region: Military perspective and NATO approach
By Andrzej Fałkowski
The complex Baltic Sea region lies at the top of the agenda for many politicians, and security stakeholders in Europe and beyond. The area, centered around one of the busiest seas in the world, is home to a roughly hundred million people, covers ten countries, and is divided among couple of geopolitical blocs. And though the Baltic Sea basin has not seen interstate war in three quarters of a century, the region nonetheless continues to experience periodic increase of tensions (Nikers & Tabuns 2021, p. 2). In recent years, the threats posed by Russia’s aggressive stance have finally prompted an appropriate response from NATO. The report seeks to answer the question of whether the initiatives taken at recent NATO summits are appropriate to credibly deter and prevent attempts to undermine NATO’s unity and increase its potential. In this context, it is worth recalling the basic principles of NATO’s decision-making process. The report aims to delve into the some security dilemmas facing the North Atlantic Alliance in this region and assesses and analyzes the current scope of NATO’s defense and security initiatives in the region. Taking the subject from this perspective, it showed how NATO tried to improve deterrence and defense along the Baltic Sea coast to meet challenges and threats. This study does not focus on economic and social security issues. This may be the subject of a separate in-depth analysis.
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