Baltic Sea

The recently exposed “Russian Laundromat” scandal alerted the world to a $20 billion money laundering scheme that bankrupted three of Moldova’s largest banks, forcing the country to apply for—and eventually receive—an IMF bailout. Half of the laundered money travelled...

Estonia’s citizenship policy complicates the country’s relationship with its large Russian-speaking minority and Russian neighbor. Estonia’s policy approach is an “achilles’ heel” for the Baltic region. However, recent political shifts provide an opportunity for change. ...

As the world anxiously watches President Donald Trump in action, concerns over the implications of his foreign policy choices are felt ever as keenly in the Baltic states. From cheers over Trump’s greetings to Lithuania on its day of...

The Baltic states appear to be underestimating President Donald Trump, just as others have before. Baltic elites should use caution when dealing with Trump’s America. The elite in America underestimated Trump’s ability to win and underestimate his ability to...

In 2017, a skillful combination of military aggression, attacks on information and communications systems, widespread disinformation, and psychological pressure has established itself as the winning formula in modern hybrid conflicts. This winning strategy has made cyber security—once a marginal...

Dalia Grybauskaite’s victory in Lithuania’s 2009 presidential elections and her insistence on altering her predecessor’s values-based, pro-American foreign policy suggested that she would pursue major foreign policy changes, particularly with two immediate neighbors—Belarus and Russia—and two Black Sea countries—Ukraine...

Lithuania’s 2009 presidential campaign was the dullest since the office of the president was re-established seventeen years ago. As one academic remarked, “The 2009 Lithuanian presidential race resembled a cemetery: There was deadly silence”—even though seven candidates ran for...

Over the past several months, much has been made of President-elect Donald Trump’s attitude toward and connections with Russia and its leader Vladimir Putin. Some observers have charged that Trump is naïve about Putin’s real objectives and have implied...

President-elect Donald Trump is in the midst of selecting his national security team. He not only needs to decide the “who,” but also the “how” of national security decision-making. It is unclear whether he will adopt Ronald Reagan’s model...