Ukraine Crisis: Re-defining the Nordic-Baltic Security Outlook

With the “return of geopolitics” in Europe signalled by Russia’s “special military action” in Ukraine, this chapter will examine the implications of the crisis for regional security in Northern Europe. Despite Ukraine a non-EU, non-NATO country where the military conflict has broken out; Russia’s actions have caused wider tensions in Europe, notably among the EU and NATO member states located along Russia’s western frontier. Military equations and alignments have re-entered the diplomatic discourse in Northern Europe. While the outbreak of military conflict between Russia and any of the Nordic and Baltic states remains a distinctly remote prospect, it can no longer be discounted. In this context, the chapter analyses the structures of Nordic-Baltic security relations, how they have evolved and what their prospects are in the aftermath of the Ukraine crisis.