Conversation on NATO’s Northern Front: Kaja Kallas and Mary Elise Sarotte at MSC 2024

In a year full of anniversaries, NATO faces major challenges. At the 60. Munich Security Conference Kaja Kallas, Prime Minister of Estonia, and Mary Elise Sarotte, author of the history of NATO enlargement “Not One Inch”, debate the changed NATO northern border and historical lessons.

20 years since NATO enlarged to the Baltics, 25 since Central and Eastern Europeans first became allies, and 75 since NATO’s founding, the new memberships of Sweden and Finland are changing NATO’s “northern front”. With Finland’s membership of the alliance, NATO’s border with Russia has been extended by 1,340 km.

As Sophocles advised, “a man of sense judges the new events by the past”, Kallas and Sarotte debate what the past teaches us about how to deal with the urgent questions raised by Russian aggression against Ukraine: What can other states learn from the Baltic countries’ past experiences, both under Russian occupation and since restoring their independence? What should NATO members and the Alliance do to help Ukraine win and prevent further Russian aggression? And, in a year of not just anniversaries but also many elections, how can leaders strike the right balance between continuing to build prosperous societies while also making necessary increases in defense spending?

The conversation is moderated by Gabriele Woidelko, Head of History and Politics at the Körber-Stiftung.