THE SECURITY POLICY OF LITHUANIA AND THE 'INTEGRATION DILEMMA'

Abstract

Foreign and security policy (FSP) of Lithuania, like that of other Baltic states, is closely related to the development of her political identity. The main objectives of Lithuania’s FSP, those of strengthening state sovereignty and joining the European process of integration, are subject to the tensions of the ‘integration dilemma’ in Lithuania’s political discourse. The dilemma sets state sovereignty against the processes of integration, for the preservation of sovereignty by way of an integration with international institutions requires the abandonment of certain aspects of sovereignty (Kelstrup, 1993; Petersen, 1996) The problems involved in the integration dilemma have many different aspects and can be approached from a variety of theoretical positions. Traditionally, the ‘integration dilemma’ has been tackled in integration and adaptation theories. After a brief survey of these theories the present study proceeds with the analysis of the development of Lithuania's FSP from the perspective of social constructivism. The analysis is based on the hypothesis that Lithuania's political reality has been conceptualized in terms of the interplay at least of two competitive discourses: the discourse of sovereignty and the integration discourse, with each of them implemented in different discursive practices. Considered from the perspective of constructivism, the integration dilemma acquires a very different content. Discussions about the relative power of loyalty to Europe versus that to nation/state loses its point, for Europe and state/nation are mutually constitutive. On the basis of the hypothesis, the present study attempts to establish the correlation between security conceptualizations and Lithuania’s FS policies since the declaration of independence in 1990. In particular, the prospects of Baltic states’ co-operation, Lithuanian Polish relations and the process of integration with the West have been considered, with an emphasis on the problems of NATO enlargement and European integration. The analysis has led to the conclusion that Lithuania’s FSP is dominated by the precepts of the sovereignty discourse. In justifying the integration process the meanings which have been shaped in the sovereignty discourse are being transferred to the emerging integration discourse. However, the conflict-based model of the relations between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’, when applied to the integration process, can easily lead to misunderstandings and inadequate assessment of the situation in practical politics.