Defending NATO's Northern Flank

This book investigates several aspects of military power and security in the North Atlantic and Arctic regions. NATO's northern flank is a large maritime and littoral theatre, where NATO directly borders Russia's Northern Fleet Military Administrative Territory, which is the location of some of Russia's most potent air, sea, and land power capabilities. While military tensions on the northern flank had been relatively low for years, the Ukraine war and increased great-power rivalry have altered that dynamic, with heightened geopolitical tensions. This has increased the focus on military-strategic competition in this northernmost region of the alliance. This book presents new assessments of several aspects of military power and security in the North Atlantic and Arctic regions. With an analysis of the security and political climate in the High North and of developments in Western military strategies, capabilities, doctrines, and operational concepts, the volume seeks to bring together an holistic understanding of the strategic challenges and opportunities facing the North Atlantic states and NATO in this dynamic area of responsibility for the alliance. In doing this, the book provides key insights into the role of branch-specific and joint approaches to power projection and operations in the High North, which also include selected country case studies. This book will be of much interest to students of NATO, military studies, security studies, and International Relations.

Lon Strauss is an associate professor of Military History at the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College. Njord Wegge is a professor of Political Science at the Norwegian Defence University College/Norwegian Military Academy.

INTRODUCTION 1. Security and Defense of NATO's Northern Flank: An Introduction SECTION I: SECURITY, POWER-PROJECTION AND OPERATIONS ON NATO'S NORTHERN FLANK 2. The Strategic Challenge of Expeditionary Warfare and The Defense of NATO's Northern Flank 3. A Defense Dilemma and a possible Security Dilemma. Norway, the United States, and the Defense of Northern Norway, 1960-1980 4. The Russian Way of Regular Warfare and the Arctic 5. National Security Interests of Russia's Northern Sea Route: Additional Elements of Domestic and International Importance 6. NATO, Doctrines, and the Arctic 7. Norwegian Problems of Confidence Building: Geopolitical Exposure and Military Vulnerabilities in the High North SECTION II: STRATEGIC INTERESTS AND THE ARCTIC 8. U.S. National Strategy in the Arctic 9. Integrated Naval Deterrence in the Arctic: Deterring Russian Aggression through US-Norwegian Cooperation 11. Special Operations Forces in the Arctic: From Heroes to Zeroes? SECTION III: NATO'S NORTHERN FLANK STATES 12. Norway's Strategic Role and Interests at NATO's Northern Flank: Finding a New Balance? 13. Finnish and Swedish NATO Membership: What Does it Hold for the Arctic? 14. A Kingdom Divided Against Itself: The Kingdom of Denmark and the Rise of Arctic Security Dynamics 15. The United Kingdom as a Near-Arctic State and Essential Regional Security Ally