10 – Germany and the Baltic States: Being Ready to Die for Freedom [Part 1]
Show notes
For the first part of a two-part special, Ben and Aaron are joined this week by an all-star panel of Baltic politicians, including Marko Mihkelson and Žygimantas Pavilionis – who chair the Foreign Affairs Committees in Estonian and Lithuanian Parliament, respectively – along with Artis Pabriks, a former Foreign, Defense, and Deputy Prime Minister of Latvia. We discuss the differences in Baltic and German memory culture, attitudes to the military and to the defence of freedom - and how that plays into the ways Germany views Russia, Ukraine, and the Baltic states. We also look at how the Baltics view German commitments to Ukraine and how Baltic small state leadership sets an example Germany can look at on everything from digitalisation to China policy and enlargement of both NATO and the EU.
Part 2 features and extended interview with German Baltic expert Prof. Ulrike von Hirschhausen.
Guests:
- Marko Mihkelson, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Estonian Parliament (@markomihkelson)
- Žygimantas Pavilionis, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lithuanian Parliament (@ZygisPavilionis)
- Artis Pabriks, former Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Minister & Defense Minister, Latvia (@Pabriks)
Resources:
- Want to live in peace? Be prepared for war! Dangers Surrounding Latvia and What to Do with them?, ‘Forum for the future of Latvia’
- Keynote Speech of Artis Pabriks [from minute 34],Baltic Sea Regional Forum 2023
- Eastern Europe puts boots on the ground to stamp out Putin’s comeback, Oliver Moody, The Times
- Strategic Challenges in the Baltic Sea Region: Russia, Deterrence, and Reassurance, Ann-Sofie Dahl (ed. 2018), Georgetown University Press
- Europe’s Losers Have Become Its Winners Again, Caroline de Gruyter, Foreign Policy
- Baltic Security Challenges, Marko Mihkelson
- Why Does Lithuania Need an Indo-Pacific Strategy?, John Garrick and Konstantinas Andrijauskas, The Diplomat
- Berlin Foreign Policy Forum 2022: The Price of Peace – Rethinking Security for Germany and Europe, Remarks by Artis Pabriks, Körber-Stiftung
- Latvia blasts Germany’s ‘immoral and hypocritical’ relationship with Russia and China, Louise Westendarp, Politico
This podcast is an original production of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). It was created as part of DGAP's Action Group Zeitenwende.
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