AbstractsComputer Science

This master thesis takes departure in the observation that the Russian involvement in the Ukraine crisis since 2014 has altered the European security environment with implications for the security dynamics of the Nordic-Baltic states. The thesis examines how the perception of Russia in relation to the Ukraine crisis has affected the Nordic-Baltic security dynamics. In order to analyse this, the thesis employs an analytical framework based on the Regional Security Complex Theory by Barry Buzan and Ole Wæver (2003) and considers the Nordic-Baltic states as a subcomplex. Based on the threat perceptions and practices of the Nordic-Baltic states the analysis first examines the Nordic-Baltic security dynamics prior to the Ukraine crisis. Next, it investigates to what extent Russia constitutes a common security issue in the Nordic-Baltic subcomplex after the Ukraine crisis. Finally, the extent to which the Nordic-Baltic subcomplex is a security community after the Ukraine crisis is assessed. The thesis concludes that the perception of Russia as a threat in the Nordic-Baltic subcomplex in relation to the Ukraine crisis has affected the Nordic-Baltic security dynamics by increasing the relative security interdependence and the extent to which the Nordic-Baltic subcomplex constitutes a security community.