Northern Europe’s Strategic Challenge from Russia: What Political and Military Responses? Russie.Nei.Visions, No. 111, Ifri, October 2018
The return of more conflictual relations between Russia and the West following Russia’s intervention in Eastern Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea has led to a deterioration in the strategic environment for Northern European countries, particularly in the Baltic Sea Region and the Arctic.
In Nordic capitals, this climate of tension is perceived as the “new normal” to which one must adapt by implementing an effective strategy of deterrence. This adaptation is taking place as much on a national scale, at the level of defence policies and doctrines, as in bilateral and multilateral settings, principally transatlantic and in a NATO context.
Barbara Kunz is a Research Fellow at the Study Committee for Franco-German relations (Cerfa) within the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri).