Publications

Defense cooperation rarely enters the public eye. Although sometimes highlighted by politicians, generals, or major headline-making military exercises, much of it takes place under the radar as fairly mundane military financing and contact. However, it recently has entered the...

In June, NATO conducted a scaled down version of its annual BALTOPS naval drills in the Baltic Sea. But with a heavy emphasis on land-based deterrence since re-independence, the Baltic States and NATO alike have been largely plagued by...

In early June, Latvia published the 2020 iteration of its State Defense Concept (Valsts Aizsardzības Koncepcija) to replace the 2016 version. The Concept is a political planning document which will guide the details of defense policy and planning for...

From Emmanuel Macron to Ursula von der Leyen, many European leaders dream of the European Union (EU) asserting itself one day as a geopolitical superpower in its own right. There is still a long way to go, however. True,...

The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic go far beyond health issues and economy. It is a much broader challenge for the security of Western countries, not least for those at NATO’s Eastern frontier, like the Baltic states....

Over the last few weeks, a debate has intensified in German political and national security circles on the issue of replacing Panavia Tornado jets for the Luftwaffe. With entry into service in 1979, the Tornado as presently operated by...

Do you want to know how Beijing would like Europe to act? Take a look at Switzerland. Switzerland and China have been close for decades. It was the first Western nation to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic...

The European Union (EU) faces its own crisis of trust. The onslaught of COVID-19 provoked nationalist reflexes, laid bare old divisions, and revived decade-old bets on the demise of the union....

Tomorrow, May begins. The weather is warming up, the flowers are blooming, and the birds are chirping—but we remain inside. This nicer weather makes it particularly more difficult to obey quarantine and social distancing rules, but doing so will...

While this year's snowless winter may have changed things, Lithuanians haven't seemed particularly concerned with climate change in their country. According to Standard Eurobarometer 90, only 3% of Lithuanians in November 2018 believed climate change and energy issues to...