NATO, Russia, and Competition for Strategic Influence in the Baltic

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has heightened concern about NATO’s ability to maintain its core mission of providing security and stability to allies across Europe. This concern is most acute in smaller, former Soviet states with Russian ethnic populations that are close to the Russian border, as is the case for the Baltic States—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. These security issues include political, economic, and military factors. NATO, as the political-military organization that guarantees security in the region, is critical to answering those concerns. Understanding how NATO currently works to protect vulnerable allies, such as the Baltic States, and how it might initially respond to a Russian incursion can provide insight into how U.S. strategic and operational activity can influence European security and global stability.