Baltic States

How and why did NATO, a Cold War military alliance created in 1949 to counter Stalin's USSR, become the cornerstone of new security order for post-Cold War Europe? Why, instead of retreating from Europe after communism's collapse, did the U.S. launch the greatest expansion of the American commitment to the old continent in decades? Written by a high-level insider, Opening NATO's Door provides a definitive account of the ideas, politics, and diplomacy that went into the historic decision to expand NATO to Central and Eastern Europe. Drawing on the still-classified archives of the U.S. Department of State, Ronald D. Asmus recounts how and why American policymakers, against formidable odds at home and abroad, expanded NATO as part of a broader strategy to overcome Europe's Cold War divide and to modernize the Alliance for a new era. Asmus was one of the earliest advocates and intellectual architects of NATO enlargement to Central and Eastern Europe after the collapse of communism in the early 1990s and subsequently served as a top aide to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and Deputy Secretary Strobe Talbott, responsible for European security issues. He was involved in the key negotiations that led to NATO's decision to extend invitations to Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, the signing of the NATO-Russia Founding Act, and finally, the U.S. Senate's ratification of enlargement. Asmus documents how the Clinton Administration sought to develop a rationale for a new NATO that would bind the U.S. and Europe together as closely in the post-Cold War era as they had been during the fight against communism. For the Clinton Administration, NATO enlargement became the centerpiece of a broader agenda to modernize the U.S.-European strategic partnership for the future. That strategy reflected an American commitment to the spread of democracy and Western values, the importance attached to modernizing Washington's key alliances for an increasingly globalized world, and the fact that the Clinton Administration looked to Europe as America's natural partner in addressing the challenges of the twenty-first century. As the Alliance weighs its the future following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. and prepares for a second round of enlargement, this book is required reading about the first post-Cold War effort to modernize NATO for a new era.

After briefly dealing with arguments for and against NATO's enlargement as far as Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, the author shows why the enlargement process must be carried forward to include, in the near future, the three Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania) and Ukraine. Inclusion of the Baltic States and of Ukraine in NATO would stabilize the region by helping the Russian democrats to concentrate on building a genuinely democratic, market-oriented Russian national state, instead of succumbing to the temptation to restore the Soviet Union. Ukraine could also contribute to NATO a sizable conventional military force and a prime strategic area; the Baltic States offer a prime location and an indomitable spirit. The Balts and Ukraine will help NATO when finally admitted as full members.

Pal Kolsto is professor of Russian and East European Area Studies at the University of Oslo.

In 1989 the post-Communist countries of Eastern Europe opened their economies by establishing more open exchange rate policies and exchange controls and eliminating prohibitive tariffs and quotas. Now trying to join the integrated world economy, they are facing the challenge of finding strategic alliances and attracting foreign capital. This book analyzes economic policy in Eastern Europe with a focus on the financial arrangement of currency boards. It examines the main challenges facing East European countries, their economic policy strategies, the main challenges to the economies that adopted currency boards, and whether currency boards were a solution.

The promise of a smooth systemic transformation in the Baltic states has been overshadowed by unforeseen obstacles. Speedy disengagement from the past, particularly from long established practices and inherited economic relationships, has proven more trying than originally anticipated. Compelling interview materials from the region's 115 leading government officials, including prime ministers, and academicians, highlight the major points of the text. Scholars in the United States and Europe, government officials, research and business institutes, and business trade associations will find this a thought provoking analysis of the progress and prospects of former Soviet republics and the lessons this provides for other republics of the former USSR.

Describing & analyzing the links between monetary policy & economic governance in small countries in both Western & Eastern Europe, this interdisciplinary volume demonstrates how the politics of interest group participation in small states shape monetary policy decisions in increasingly globalized financial markets. The contributors' findings hold great relevance even for large countries like the United States which are now struggling with the challenges of internationalization.

"This fine collection ... fills many gaps about foreign policy directions of the states of the former Soviet Union and of Central Asia generally. It provides solid, sometimes outstanding treatment of the foreign policies of Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, Belarus, the Baltic states, and Russia. ... Recommended". -- Choice

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