ABSTRACT
The Baltic Sea region rapidly attracted world attention when it became evident in the mid-1990s that an enlargement of NATO which excluded the three vulnerable Baltic states might place them in a strategically risky grey zone which could affect the stability of all of Europe. To Sweden, modern interest in the Baltic Sea region dates back to the final years of bipolarity but intensified as the end of the Cold War brought a sense of increased instability, rather than, as was the case on the Central Front, a dramatically improved sense of stability on the Northern Flank. But only as the possible consequences of NATO enlargement was debated did Nordic concern for developments on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea become fully appreciated by actors outside the region such as NATO.
