The Baltic States in a World in Disorder: The Many Dimensions of Security

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

With the Trump administration’s abandonment of US allies and embrace of Putin’s Russia, the future of the NATO alliance, and especially that of its most vulnerable members, the Baltic states, has come into question. This roundtable brings together historians, political scientists and sociologists to discuss various aspects of contemporary Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian politics and societies at a time of heightened tensions and growing uncertainty. Amongst the topics to be tackled are military preparedness as viewed through defense expenditures and conscription systems, the situation of the Russian minorities and their attitudes, negative demographic trends (low marriage and birth rates, high rates of labor emigration, and meeting the social welfare needs of an aging population), collective memory pertaining to the Second World War and the removal of Soviet war monuments, calls for decolonization, and increasing securitization across multiple sectors of society.

Sub Unit

• International Relations, Security Studies, Foreign Policy

Chair

• Joerg Hackmann, U of Szczecin (Poland)

Roundtable Speakers

• Olavi Arens, Georgia Southern U

• Daina S. Eglitis, George Washington U

• Andres Kasekamp, U of Toronto (Canada)

• Jennie Schulze, Duquesne U