Foreign Policy “On the Cheap”: Latvia’s Foreign Policy Experience from the Economic Crisis

Kļaviņš, Didzis; Rostoks, Toms; Ozoliņa, Žaneta

doi:10.1080/01629778.2014.942675

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 11 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As for Latvia, specifically, there is an argument that the EU and NATO benefit as Latvia helps Georgia and Moldova "Westernize" (Kesa 2011, Whitman and Juncos 2013, Galbreath and Lamoreaux 2013, Kļaviņš et al 2014, Martinezgarnelo Y Calvo 2014, Vilson 2015), but the above-mentioned doubt about the EU's and NATO's real intentions potentially undermine this argument. Furthermore, even this "benefit" is in question as Latvia's foreign policy objectives become less focused on being a "bridge" and more focused on taking care of their own interests (Made 2011, Dimitrovova 2012, Joenniemi 2012, Cottey 2012, Pastore 2013.…”

Section: Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

Does Latvia Matter in Regional Geopolitics?

Lamoreaux

Dyerly

2018

Journal on Baltic Security

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As early as 1994, scholars, analysts and policymakers began to wonder the extent to which the Baltic States mattered in the relationship between Russia and the West. The general consensus for the following 20 years was that the Baltic States matter considerably, especially following their inclusion in both the EU and NATO in 2004. However, in the past few years two trends have emerged which begin to call this accepted knowledge into question. First, the relationship between Russia and the West has turned more hostile following nearly 20 years of detente. The West insists (especially NATO) insists that it is within its right to protect states that were formerly part of the Soviet Union/Russia’s “near abroad”. Russia, on the other hand, insists that NATO incursion into the “shared neighborhood” is a violation of trust and overstepping normal geopolitical bounds.Second, the Baltic States who once presented something of a united front for the West against Russia, no longer appear to have a common approach to foreign policy. While Estonia leans toward Scandinavia, and Lithuania leans toward Poland and Ukraine, Latvia is a bit of an odd man out with nowhere to turn. Furthermore, even other states in the Shared Neighborhood no longer seem to see Latvia as a valuable ally within the West. Considering this state of affairs, this paper considers whether Latvia matters anymore in regional geopolitics, or whether they are losing relevance.

show abstract