An Uncertain journey to the promised land: the Baltic states’ road to NATO membership

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Baltijos valstybės; Baltijos šalys (Baltic states); Bendradarbiavimas; Eastija; Latvija (Latvia); NATO; Nacionalinis saugumas; Strategija; Baltic States; Cooperation; Latvia; Lithuania; NATO; National security; Strategy.

ENMost accounts of NATO enlargement depict it as the implementation of US grand strategy. This article aims to restore agency to the acceding states, specifically the Baltic states who joined the Alliance in 2004. It analyzes the dynamics of competition and cooperation among Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the late 1990s and early 2000s during the process of NATO accession. The article demonstrates that both rivalry and joint efforts among the Baltic states in their reforms and lobbying were crucial factors in shaping the outcome. Unlike their inclusion into the EU, NATO membership for the Baltic states seemed improbable, and thus the paper highlights the demand-driven aspect of NATO expansion. [From the publication]

• Brotherhood reconsidered : region-building in the Baltics / Mindaugas Jurkynas. Journal of Baltic studies. 2004, vol. 35, no. 1, p. 1-31.
• Ratification of the NATO treaty in the U.S. Senate: lessons learned / Renatas Norkus. Lithuanian foreign policy review. 2003, 11/12, p. 38-53.