Baltic visions and dilemmas of territorial defence after 16 years in NATO

Abstract

The concepts of development of territorial defence forces and capabilities are different within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and are closely linked with specific characteristics of respective nations. Moreover, it is linked with historic circumstances, culture, composition of society and other specific domains. Changes in the internal and international security environment are further affecting decisions about selecting specific defence and deterrence models. The security on the Eastern Flank of the NATO has progressed visibly after 2014 events in Ukraine, causing investments into Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian territorial defence as a recognition of their value to support their armed forces. The aim of the current research is to analyse the ongoing evolution of territorial defence forces of three Baltic countries in broader regional perspective in light of changed threat perception and risk assessments.