Russia in the Baltic Sea Region

Relations between Russia and the Baltic States — the weakest link in the Baltic Rim — have significantly improved since 2000. One of the explanations for this improvement is the fact that in contemporary Russian political discourse national identity is desecuritized. The role of the Baltic states has radically changed: they are no longer considered as an embodiment of the ‘false’, anti-Russian Europe. However, despite the desecuritization of national identity, security as the model of structuring and governing the ‘external’ world still dominates political discourse. The preponderance of the war against terrorism as discursive articulation, as well as the modernist nature of President Putin’s political project, leads to the marginalization of the Baltic Sea area on the political agenda. Some new departures in Russia’s policy as regards the Baltic Sea area are possible, however, once Russia has gone through its election campaign, and the enlargements of NATO and the EU are complete.