This ”fine and exhaustive study” (Kalevi Holsti) is the first attempt to rigorously apply Karl Deutsch´s analytical concept of a security community to the Baltic Sea area and thus to systematically investigate the possibility for dependable expectations of peaceful change in the region. To accomplish this the study discusses all relevant political conflict issues and how they have been tackled. It explores the emerging patterns of economic and other transactions tying the region to a community and analyses the role played by civil society and by international organizations in its peaceful transformation. The book ends with policy recommendations as well as theoretical considerations on the study of political community at the international level.

”The study includes a wealth of information and detail that is unavailable in previous analyses of the area. The study is well informed and produces a good deal of critical evidence to support the main conclusions.” – Professor Kalevi Holsti, University of British Columbia