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Program Overview
The Russian invasion of Ukraine and annexation of Crimea have triggered concern among all the borderland areas, not least the Baltic states. FPRI’s Baltic Initiative is designed to advance Americans’ awareness of the region while providing a platform for voices from the region. Questions of security, diplomacy, and politics will be an area of focus, because these are key questions in these countries’ own political debate. Yet the Baltics’ story is much broader than most people realize. From energy to economics, from trade to technology, the future of Europe is being debated and decided in the Baltics. In its first six months, the Initiative has launched a regular publication titled The Baltic Bulletin, which shares insights about the region with thousands of readers worldwide. The Initiative also organizes public events. The Baltic Bulletin is edited by FPRI Fellow Chris Miller.
Accomplishments Thus Far
The Baltic Initiative has hosted events in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. In May, we featured the Deputy Chief of Mission of the Lithuanian Embassy in Washington, Mindaugas Zickus at FPRI’s Geopolitics with Granieri in Philadelphia. Lithuania is on the frontiers of the struggle between Russia and the West for influence in Europe’s borderlands. How does Lithuania view the current security situation vis-a-vis Russia? What steps is the country taking to avert or fend off aggression? What does the future hold for the Baltic Sea region? These questions addressed were by Granieri and Zickus at the event.
Mindaugas Zickus addresses the members of FPRI
FPRI Roundtable, Baltic Studies Conference
FPRI also co-sponsored this year’s Annual Meeting of the Association for Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS), held in Philadelphia. FPRI-sponsored events at the convention included a round-table discussion entitled “The Baltic States in European Security.” The roundtable was chaired by Chris Miller and featured FPRI scholars John Haines, Ron Granieri, and Mitchell Orenstein, alongside Karl Altau of Joint Baltic American National Committee and Andres Kasekamp of the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute.
FPRI team and friends meet with Estonia’s President Ilves
Top 10 Most Viewed Baltic Bulletins of 2016
- Why the Baltics? Chris Miller - January, 2016.
- Blunting Moscow’s Sword of Damocles Policy in the Baltic Region Douglas Mastriano, Jeffrey Setser - June, 2016.
- Friends, But Not Allies: Finland, Sweden, and NATO in the Baltic Sea Johan Eellend - June, 2016.
- Latvia’s Debate About Russian Propaganda Una Bergmane - July, 2016.
- Putin’s Conundrum: The Baltic Region, Unconventional Threats and a Rising Russia Douglas Mastriano - April, 2016.
- France and Germany Must Work With The US On Baltic Security Eoin McNamara - January, 2016.
- Little Green Men in the Baltic States Are an Article 5 Event Lukas Milevski - January, 2016.
- Lithuanian Security Culture: Contrasts and Contradictions Egle Murauskaite - May, 2016.
- Lost in Conflation: The Estonian City of Narva and Its Russian-Speakers David J Trimbach - May, 2016.
Feedback
“I just want to thank you for this initiative, and for the high quality of the first bulletins. I look forward to follow it in the future.” Says Uffe Ellemann-Jensen, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark
“Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia is very impressed with the Baltic Bulletin.” Latvia Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Next Steps
FPRI’s Baltic Bulletin is currently expanding its reach by further building up its social media presence and by publishing more frequently. The Baltic Initiative is also further expanding its network of scholars in Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia in order to expand the voice experts from the region have in the United States and across Europe.
Website: http://www.fpri.org/publications/baltic-bulletin/
Twitter Page: @BalticBulletin
Editor: Chris Miller cr.miller@yale.edu
Program Manager: Maia Otarashvili motarashvili@fpri.org
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