Explaining Russia’s Security Policy in the Barents and Baltic Sea Regions A Comparative Case Study

Abstract

To study Russia’s security policy has always been an important issue, but it was not until 2007 that a visible turning point was observed in Russian security policy towards a more anti-western and expansionist tendency. Consequently, an increase in Russian security policy towards its western borders was observed. This turning point as well as many other different impacts on the regional security dynamics, towards Russia’s western border and more specifically the Barents and Baltic Sea regions, makes a comparative analysis of Russian security policy in the two regions highly topical. Furthermore, there is a significant difference between the two regions, which makes uncovering the reasons for this intriguing. Thus, the aim of this thesis is to first identify the differences in Russian security policy in the two regions and then explain the differences. By pursuing the aim to analyse and explain Russian security policy in both regions in the period between 2007 and 2020, this thesis allows for a comprehensive study of Russian security policy and is both empirically and theoretically relevant. It provides new research and enhances the knowledge on Russian security policy in both the Barents and Baltic Sea regions specifically and in a bigger perspective, Russian security studies. I find that Russia has mainly one security policy in both regions, that is, Russia aims to increase its capabilities and number and complexity of its exercises in both regions. However, there has been a difference in the implementation of the polices and a difference in time. My findings suggest that Russia has a greater focus on and increased its security measures, such as military capabilities and exercises, more in the Barents Sea region than in the Baltic Sea region. This difference has been explained through a geopolitical perspective. Consequently, the three geopolitical factors geography, threats perceptions, historical experiences and its impact today explains why Russia has increased its security measures in both regions, and that some of the factors albeit to a varying degree explain why Russia has increased its security measures more in the Barents Sea region.