28.01.10
Autor: Tomas Jermalavicius
In the eyes of the outside observer, Estonia’s intelligence and security services maintain a rather low-key profile in country’s public affairs, as befits their secretive and subtle mission. They have had their share of bad publicity and embarrassment – Herman Simm’s treason as well as scandalous allegations of illicit wiretapping activities by military intelligence spring into mind. But all this is nothing compared to the storms that battered Lithuania’s main intelligence and security organisation, the State Security Department, or VSD, over the last few years. (Not to mention past scandals of varying degree that hit other Lithuanian security and intelligence services such as the anti-corruption agency STT or military intelligence and counterintelligence service AOTD).
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postitas: ICDS
15.10.09
Autor: Tomas Jermalavicius
October 15th is a Blog Action Day’09 on Climate Change, whereby thousands of bloggers from around the world – concerned individuals as well as NGOs and corporations – join to discuss this issue and underline its importance to their readers in the bloggospace (www.blogactionday.org). Security and defence community is notably absent from this action, but it does not mean it is not preoccupied with the matter: climate change and its security implications are a prominent subject in academic papers, policy reviews, foresight exercises and various gatherings.
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postitas: ICDS
26.08.09
Autor: Tomas Jermalavicius
Confronted with formidable challenges of counterinsurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States military realised that their old ways of conducting warfare were irrelevant and that they had to relearn the forgotten tricks of “small wars” anew. In this quest, the U.S. military leadership became fascinated with a rather old managerial concept of learning organisation: the counterinsurgency manual of 2006 explicitly refers to the imperative for the U.S. military to turn itself into a smart learning organisation as a precondition for long-term success in current and future military campaigns.
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postitas: ICDS
26.06.09
Autor: Tomas Jermalavicius
Last week, the Swedish parliament narrowly (153 votes in favour, 150 against) voted to pass a bill drafted by the government which suspends conscription to the Swedish Armed Forces. More than a century-old institution of universal duty to do military service for the Swedish state was put on a shelf and will be brought back to life only in a case of national defence emergency and when military preparedness requires it. If it happens, it will also be gender-neutral: that is, all men and women of suitable age and health will be drafted. But, for now, national defence duty will be done strictly on a voluntary basis, and the Swedish Armed Forces will switch to the all-volunteer force (AVF) format.
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postitas: ICDS
21.05.09
Autor: Tomas Jermalavicius
On Sunday evening, champagne corks popped open in many places around Lithuania when the preliminary results of the presidential elections were declared. As expected, the EU commissioner for budget and financial programming Dalia Grybauskaitė won it handsomely already in the first round, collecting almost 70% of votes at 51% turnout. She will become the first female head of state of Lithuania ever.
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postitas: ICDS
15.05.09
Autor: Tomas Jermalavicius
As befits a finale of an impressive marathon, last week the project team of the Multiple Futures Project (MFP) of the Allied Command Transformation (ACT) staged a grand show in the suburb of Brussels to roll out their final project report . In the pleasant surroundings of a SPA hotel, the birth of the Alliance’s view on the plausible alternative futures in 2030 was celebrated as the diplomats, military officials and academics discussed what should happen next. The show was complete with inspiring performances by such stars of future studies as Peter Schwarz and thought-provoking critical analyses by such heavyweights of strategic studies as Professor Colin S. Gray. As one participant aptly remarked, we definitely left the place wiser than we came.
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postitas: ICDS
27.04.09
Autor: Tomas Jermalavicius
Twice a year, in spring and autumn, ministers of defence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania meet to discuss the status and progress of defence cooperation between the three countries. Every time a Joint Communiqué is issued, sometimes after quite heated discussions over its content and wording, to highlight the priorities, measures and steps to advance this cooperation. Last week‘s meeting, which took place in Tallinn, was no exception. However, contrary to most of the previous meetings, this one was slightly overshadowed by the impact of the deep economic crisis on defence. This theme very much dominated a roundtable discussion between top defence officials, Estonian and Lithuanian defence ministers and Latvian MOD‘s political director, held at the ICDS on Friday.
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postitas: ICDS
29.01.09
Autor: Tomas Jermalavicius
Any country with formidable military power at hand is susceptible to the temptations of using it. But this use does not necessarily involve breaking things or putting boots on someone’s ground. For centuries, military might has been employed as a tool to persuade the existing or potential opponents to do or not to do something as well as to assure the allies. Mere military presence or flexing one’s military muscles may have a greater impact on the calculations of the opponents than diplomacy alone – provided, of course, many things such as timing, communication of the threat and demand, nature of issues at stake are appropriate.
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postitas: ICDS
15.01.09
Autor: Tomas Jermalavicius
The news streaming into our living rooms from the television screens have lately been about two major issues – Gaza and gas. Before Christmas, Israel opened another page in the blood-stained history of its conflict with the Palestinians by launching an attack on the Hamas-controlled Gaza strip, allegedly to destroy the militants’ capability to fire missile to the Israeli cities. When the New Year celebrations were ending, Russia shut down gas supplies to Europe via Ukraine, alleging that the latter was stealing transit gas instead of paying its debts and agreeing to a new price.
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postitas: ICDS
21.11.08
Autor: Tomas Jermalavicius
Some time within the next several weeks, a new centre-right coalition formed after October elections will take charge of governing Lithuania. It will be comprised of four parties: a conservative party called Homeland Union-Lithuanian Christian Democrats (HU/LCD) in the lead of the coalition, two liberal parties – Movement of Liberals as well as Liberal and Centre Union — and a new populist outfit, Party of National Progress. The coalition presented itself somewhat along the obamanian lines as “the coalition of change”, thus creating high expectations on part of its electorate and observers alike. It will end seven years of rule by the centre-left governments, led by the ex-communist Lithuanian Social-Democratic Party (LSDP).
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postitas: ICDS
