The problem of applying the regional definition “Baltic states” in the international relations of 1990s-2010s
The article is dedicated to actual discussions in the research community on the relevance of identifying the regional category of the “Baltic states” in international relations of the 1990s-2010s. In the introduction of the article, the context of the appearance of this problem and the reasons that prompted the author to pay attention to it are presented. It also indicates the purpose of the study (revealing the grounds for identifying the regional community of the “Baltic states” in the period under study), its tasks (analysis of the historical prerequisites for the unification of these countries into a separate region and the practice of using the name of the “Baltic state” in relation to it in official documents, public and political discourse and research publications). In addition, this section contains a brief overview of historiography on the research topic. The main part outlines the major arguments of the opponents of singling out this regional category and considers the counterarguments of their position. The author analyzes the historical context of the regional community formation by Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and the current dynamics of the interaction between these states. The relationship between the concepts of “Baltic region” and “Baltic Sea region” are also revealed using specific examples as well as the particularities of the contemporary applying of variant names “Baltic states” and “Baltic countries” in relation to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. In the final section it was concluded on the basis of the information presented in this text, that, despite the general trends towards a decrease in the importance of interaction with each other for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, in relation to the studied period of the 1990s-2010s it is quite legitimate to single them out as a separate region and that the most appropriate (historically grounded and politically neutral) form of this region designation is the name “Baltic state”.