Nordic Security And The Great Powers

by John C. Ausland

Overview

With the accelerated Soviet buildup of its Baltic fleet, the development of Soviet bases on the Kola Peninsula, and the related expansion of Allied forces, Scandinavia has once again become a potential theater of war. Looking at the strategic implications of the Soviet threat in northern Europe and possible NATO responses, the author examines the competitive activities of intelligence services; the interactions among the media, public opinion, and politics; problems of arms control; efforts to stop the export of sensitive technology; and the phenomenon of peacetime military exercises. But what if either limited or all-out war comes? The author describes the strategies and forces of the two sides and examines the key role of Iceland, emphasizing the strategic element of control of the waters. Potentially this is an area with four major actors: NATO, the USSR, the neutrals–Finland and Sweden–and the potentially dangerous but probably unreliable Warsaw Pact allies. It is a region of major importance that NATO must defend as its northern shield.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780367008789
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/07/2019
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ausland, John C.

Table of Contents

Introduction — A Birdseye View of the Nordic Area — Part One: Peacetime Preparations — The Intelligence Game — The Electronic War — Espionage and Politics — The Contest for the Nordic Mind — Public Opinion and Political Power — Arms Control: Solution or Crutch? — Flow of Technology to the Soviets — Exercises: Demonstrations or Rehearsals? — In Case of War — Scenarios for War — Soviet Strategy — Warsaw Pact Forces — NATO Strategies — NATO Ground and Air Forces — Reinforcements for AFNORTH — The Finnish Dilemma — The Swedish Third Way — Peacetime Struggle for the Waters — Iceland and the North Atlantic Islands — The Battle for the Norwegian Sea — The End Line — The Nordic Predicament — Postscript — Bibliographic Note