Palmer: The Baltic Alan Palmer: The Baltic - A New History of the Region and its People

Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: The Overlook Press 2006
ISBN: 1-58567-446-X

Alan Palmer has written a thorough history of the Baltic region. As history in general, Baltic history is to a great degree a narrative of great power competition. Sweden, Germany, Russia and occasionally Britain have competed for power, while ideas have throughout history prepared the future for the Baltic way. Now the Baltic Sea is surrounded, except for Russia, by democratic republics that have integrated into common Europe through EU and Nato membership.

Palmer has combined scholarly knowledge to his own travel experiences - the book is easy to read and enjoyable. History has, apart from tragedy, destruction and war, other less known but more interesting stories:

"On 18 September 1644 Queen Christina had become, at eighteen, the kingdom's active sovereign. ... Her inclination favoured peace and the enjoyment of a cultured society. ... She read widely and studied deeply, and she appreciated good art... Christina took the business of government seriously, playing politics astutely until, at the age of twenty-four, the game began to bore her." 113

Finns talk about the Baltic Sea as the East Sea, the idea of us being part of the Baltic is somewhat less obvious - oddly so when one studies geography. In contemporary foreign policy debates this process of identity defining can be seen as the competition between Europe's strategy for the Baltic Sea region (.pdf) and the Northern Dimension initiative. Both are projects initiated at the EU-level.

"In retrospect it seems extraordinary that neither Paasikivi nor Kekkonen received a Nobel Peace Prize." 377

  ¶ 11/13/2006 10:17:00 ip.