Ostseepolitik: New German Defence Strategies and Old Geopolitical Concerns

“Ostseepolitik: New German Defence Strategies and Old Geopolitical Concerns”
Russia's war in Ukraine has fundamentally changed German foreign and security policy in the Baltic Sea region. Not only are the states at the Baltic rim calling for German military involvement, but also for arms deliveries to Ukraine and a strengthening of European security policy at EU and NATO level. In a very short time, Germany under the new federal government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz has broken with principles rooted in historical responsibility and is strengthening the German NATO mission in Lithuania, providing an additional budget of 100 billion euros for arming the Bundeswehr and supplying weapons to the war zone in Ukraine. What does this change of strategy mean for German policy in the Baltic Sea region? What current expectations of the neighbouring countries are being aroused or fulfilled? And to what extent is Germany moving away from its post-war and post-reunification geopolitical positions?

Confirmed Speaker:

Claudia Müller, MdB (Grüne)
Margarita Šešelgytė, Direktorin des Instituts für Internationale Beziehungen und Politikwissenschaft an der Universität Vilnius
Pierre-Frederic Weber, Historiker an der Universität Szczecin

Moderated by Charles Clarke (Cambridge)

Language: English

A joint event online event of the Interdisciplinary Centre for Baltic Sea Region Research (IFZO) and the Baltic Geopolitics Network at the University of Cambridge. The event will be streamed on our Youtube chanel.