Publications

Die baltische Perspektive auf Deutschland: Stimmungsanalyse und geopolitische Realitäten

Mārtiņš Vargulis, Louise Līce-Tane

Die baltischen Staaten bieten eine einzigartige und gut informierte Perspektive auf den anhaltenden Konflikt in der Ukraine, die von ihrer gemeinsamen Geschichte der sowjetischen Besatzung geprägt ist. Die Nähe Lettlands zu Russland, verbunden mit der kollektiven Erinnerung an erzwungene Besatzung, Unterdrückung und den Verlust der Souveränität, hat seine Herangehensweise an die nationale Sicherheit tiefgreifend beeinflusst. Dieses historische Erbe hat zu einer vorsichtigen und wachsamen Haltung gegenüber Russlands Potenzial geführt, Einfluss zu nehmen und die Region zu destabilisieren - eine Denkweise, die von jahrzehntelanger Erfahrung mit den von Russland ausgehenden Bedrohungen geprägt ist. Lettlands Verständnis aus erster Hand für diese Herausforderungen verleiht seiner Perspektive ein besonderes Gewicht in den europäischen Sicherheitsdiskussionen.

Broken alliance in Estonia

The collapse of the coalition government

On 10 March 2025, Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal announced the reshuffle of the Estonian coalition by dismissing the Social Democratic Party (SDE) from the coalition government. After this decision, the "Reform Party" and "Estonia200" have only a narrow majority with 52 out of 101 seats in the Riigikogu (parliament).

Russlands strategische Kommunikation zur Beeinflussung innenpolitischer Prozesse in Deutschland

Wir sind in eine Ära eingetreten, in der Narrative und ihre Instrumentalisierung durch Infor-mationsoperationen zunehmend zum Thema der Beeinflussung westlicher Gesellschaften werden. Dabei handelt es sich um feindselige Beeinflussungsaktivitäten, die darauf abzielen, die Innenpolitik der westlichen Länder zu beeinflussen und ihre Gesellschaften zu destabili-sieren. Ziel dieses Beitrags ist es, einen kurzen Überblick über die strategischen Kommunikati-onsprozesse Russlands gegenüber Deutschland zu geben und einige strategische Schritte für die Zukunft vorzuschlagen.

Government Formation in Lithuania

New Leadership Under Challenging Circumstances

After the parliamentary elections in Lithuania on October 13, forming a stable governing coalition turned out to be challenging. The Social Democratic Party of Lithuania (LSDP) broke two of its campaign promises immediately after the elections, drawing significant criticism both domestically and internationally. The process of forming the cabinet was also fraught with difficulties. President Nausėda, through his increased involvement, has notably expanded his influence.

Parliamentary elections in Lithuania

Loss of power and leadership crisis of the Christian Democrats

After the second round of parliamentary elections in Lithuania, the picture is looking bleak for the Christian Democrats. Not only have they lost their seat in government, but they have also lost their party leader, Gabrielius Landsbergis, in addition to major cities such as Vilnius and Kaunas. After losing his constituency, he resigned from the party and is taking a break. The Social Democrats must now find a third coalition partner with the center-left party “Democrats for Lithuania”. This will not be easy for various reasons.

Michal for Kallas

A win-win for Kallas and Estonia

In the wake of the 2024 European elections, the Estonian government is not only still facing ongoing discussions about its budget, but is also changing its leadership.

European elections 2024

Barrier-free?

The lack of equality for people with disabilities is still omnipresent in the European Union. For the 2019 European elections, a report by the European Economic and Social Committee showed that around 800,000 EU citizens from 16 member states were excluded from the right to vote in European elections due to national regulations because of their disabilities or mental illness. The European elections in June 2024 brought the issue back to the fore, as it is also about a lack of political participation. Here you will find a brief assessment by our KAS colleagues who have looked at the current conditions in their countries of assignment.

Presidential elections in Lithuania

Great support for the incumbent president Gitanas Nausėda

The renewed victory of incumbent President Nausėda came as no surprise: Nausėda received the highest level of support in the history of presidential elections to date. There were two established politicians in the run-off, both of whom achieved their goal: Šimonytė managed to reach the run-off round, and Nausėda improved on his result. In addition to the established candidates, several newcomers also took to the political stage in the elections, while the results of the openly pro-Russian candidates shook up the country. Given the upcoming parliamentary elections, the result should not be overestimated, but initial conclusions can still be drawn about the mood of the population.

New defence strategies for Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia

Baltic Bastions

"[...] they will be treated like pigs in their own country". This sentence comes at the end of a long series of blatant threats by Russian President Putin against the three Baltic States, in this case Latvia. The statement was made in response to the alleged mistreatment of Latvia's Russian-speaking population. Such statements cause great fear of attack in these states, which had to fight hard for their independence from Russia. Faced with the feared reduction of Western support for Ukraine and the resulting sharp increase in the potential threat from Russia, the three Baltic States published new defence strategies in 2023. But how do the Baltic States intend to secure their independence, and are these concepts a blueprint for other states?

"Swish and Vote" in Estonia

Voting via smartphone soon?

After five years, the European Parliament elections will be held again in 2024. From June 6th to June 9th, 2024, over 448 million Europeans will be asked to cast their votes for various parties. People in Estonia are waiting with anticipation for the next European elections. If the current Estonian government of the Kallas III cabinet (centre-left coalition) is successful, Estonians will be able to cast their votes via smartphone for the first time in this election. Is this the next step in the progressive digitalisation of the country, or a neck-breaking move at the expense of democracy?