News | March 9, 2016

Countering Russia’s Strategy for Regional Coercion and War

By Paul Bernstein

Much of the discussion since the 2014 Ukraine crisis began has focused on how Russia could exploit a local or regional political crisis (real or manufactured) to
launch a military action that would result in a rapid fait accompli against one of the Baltic states (or elsewhere in eastern Europe), forcing NATO to weigh the costs and risks of a military response. Preventing or deterring this type of opportunistic aggression is NATO’s preferred outcome and the emphasis of current efforts to strengthen its collective defense posture in support of Article 5. The workshop addressed this challenge and some alternative approaches to shoring up NATO capabilities to deter initial Russian aggression. READ MORE >>