The Role of Small States in Promoting International Security: Lithuania Strategy

Abstract

The aim of the present article is to analyse the efforts taken aimed to build the security of the region as part of Lithuanian foreign policy in the international arena in the era of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This article seeks to verify the hypothesis that small states are able to set in motion a process that can benefit the entire region, and thus they may contribute to building international peace and security. The theoretical basis of the research is post-structural theory, from its perspective Lithuania accepts and actively shapes its identity as a small state, which is defined primarily in relation to its large and dangerous neighbor. This helps explain the small country’s consistent pursuit of integration and being an active player in the international arena, which was supposed to help it break away from the Soviet past and “return to the West.” Thus, this study contributes to knowledge on the practice of international relations by reflecting on the growing role of the Baltic States.