A2/AD and Beyond: The Baltic Sea Region in the New NATO Strategic Concept

Along with the dynamic development of Russia’s military capabilities, as well as extended anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) measures, the debate over the possibility to secure the Eastern Flank countries has been revitalised over the last several years. Previous such heated deliberations, especially where the Baltic States were concerned, took place in the pre-accession era. Since that time, NATO’s Eastern Flank has made a Herculean task of adopting a defence posture that goes far beyond a classic “Narva exercise1 ” and is in sync with the dynamic development of the security environment, including widespread classic military build-up together with preparations for hybrid scenarios.2 In this article, the context of the current debate over the place of the Eastern Flank countries in the contemporary security architecture will be presented along with possible solutions to new trends in military developments in the region.