NATO’s Eastern Flank

Russia and the Future of European Security
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-19898-9
Verlag: Taylor & Francis

Buch, Englisch, 216 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm, Gewicht: 453 g

Reihe: Routledge Global Security Studies

This book focuses on NATO’s role in East-Central Europe and how it is responding to the strategic regional challenges posed by Putin’s Russia.

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 shattered the post-Cold War illusion of a stable European security order. This volume examines the consequences for NATO's Eastern Flank — the arc of nations from the Baltic states and Poland through Romania and Bulgaria — which is now the most strategically contested border in the world. Drawing on contributions from diplomats, military strategists, and leading academics, the book tackles the full range of threats facing the Alliance: Russia's weaponisation of energy supplies, nuclear deterrence under renewed pressure, hybrid warfare and cyberattacks, and the growing strategic competition in the Arctic. Case studies spotlight landmark defence initiatives including Poland’s Eastern Shield and the Baltic Defence Line, as well as the historic accession of Finland and Sweden — which doubled NATO’s land border with Russia. The volume also examines the ambiguous but increasingly significant role of China in the region, and confronts the structural shifts in transatlantic relations driven by American reorientation toward the Indo-Pacific. The volume also considers larger conceptual issues, including what the strategic motivations driving NATO are—along with how these may need to be modified to address present-day challenges in East-Central Europe—and the manner in which cost-sharing is currently borne among Alliance members and what this may look like going forward.

This book will be of much interest to students of NATO, strategic studies, Russian security, and International Relations in general.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate, Professional, and Undergraduate Advanced

Autoren/Hrsg.

Soroka, George

Stepniewski, Tomasz

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Europäische Geschichte
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Militärgeschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Staatsbürgerkunde, Staatsbürgerschaft, Zivilgesellschaft
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Militärwesen Nationale und Internationale Sicherheits- und Verteidigungspolitik

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction: NATO’s Eastern Flank and the Future of European Security, George Soroka and Tomasz Stepniewski  1. Decoding Russia's Weaponization of Gas and the West's Response, Sijbren de Jong and Can Ögütcü  2. NATO’s Eastern Flank: Emerging and Disruptive Technologies Challenge, Dominik P. Jankowski  3. NATO's Eastern Flank: Nuclear Deterrence, Michael Rühle  4. NATO’s Eastern Flank Security Dilemma During the Russo-Ukrainian War, Tomasz Stepniewski  5. NATO, Russia, and the “Arctic Problem”, George Soroka  6. Strengthening NATO’s Eastern Flank in the Face of Russian Aggression: The Example of the Eastern Shield and Baltic Defense Line, Alicja Zygula  7. China’s Role in the NATO Eastern Flank: Limited and Ambiguous, Richard Q. Turcsányi  8. NATO at 75: Priorities for NATO’s Eastern Flank, Dominik P. Jankowski and Tomasz Stepniewski  Conclusion: Navigating a New Strategic Landscape: The Eastern Flank and the Future of Euro-Atlantic Security, George Soroka and Tomasz Stepniewski

Über Autor(innen)

George Soroka is a Lecturer on Government at Harvad University, Massachusetts, USA, and is the Executive Officer of the Harvard Academy for International and Area Studies. Focusing on the domestic and international politics of Poland, Russia, and Ukraine, as well as Arctic security issues, his research has been featured in dozens of academic publications.

Tomasz Stepniewski is Associate Professor at the Institute of Political Science and Administration, Faculty of Social Sciences, John Paul II Catholic University of Lublin, and an expert at the Academic Centre for Strategic Analysis, War Studies University, Poland. He was a Research Fellow at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute (2005, 2006, 2015) and at the Carnegie Moscow Center, among others.