Mai-Liis Bartling
President
Estonian American National Council Inc.
USA
Leelo Linask
Executive Director
Estonian American National Council Inc.
USA
www.estosite.org
erku@estosite.org
We have entered a dangerous new age, where flouting international rules and norms has become the new normal. In this world, trans-Atlantic cooperation between the U.S. and the Baltics is critical, even while Europe is stepping up in completely new ways to address its own collective defense. The U.S. remains recognized as the #1 strategic partner of the Baltic nations and, indeed, European nations more generally, even as these countries work toward developing a broader international network of partners.
In this dangerous new world, it is our view that Baltic unity and cooperation must also remain strong. In the U.S., Baltic unity and cooperation go back many years. People from these countries have a shared history, and a shared sense of geography and threat perception, based on proximity to Russia. Our families have been touched in similar ways and have common historical touchpoints and memories. This means that Baltic Americans have been the voice of experience, calling out the actions of the bad actor to the east, even when others have been more sanguine. Far from being “paranoid,” as Balts on both sides of the Atlantic had been sometimes described, they are now seen as having been prescient, instead.
U.S. Balts also have in common their respective strong diaspora communities who have remained engaged with their homelands. In many ways, our community organizations have mirrored each other, including cultural groups, schools, youth activities, and political action. These community organizations have endured for over 75 years. During the 1980s, ties were refreshed working for the end of Soviet occupation. Cooperation during the ‘80s was also trans-Atlantic. When homeland Balts coordinated actions, for example the Baltic Way, Baltic Americans looked for how they could support and amplify such actions. And there was shared joy among U.S. Balts, too; in the 1990s, as all three countries moved quickly to take advantage of a new age and new freedoms.
In the U.S., working together has meant that Estonians, instead of telling congresspersons they represent 30,000 Estonian Americans, can point out that they are part of a larger group of Baltic Americans that number nearly one million. For an even larger show of strength, we demonstrate that Baltic Americans are part of a coalition of central and eastern European-heritage Americans who number more than 20 million. There is collective strength in size, and size matters. A clear voice resonates, and our combined voices are united and strong.
Baltic Americans have also worked together to build institutional continuity, which also matters. The central organizations of the Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians in the U.S., in a farsighted act, worked together to establish the Joint Baltic American National Committee (JBANC) in 1961. The three organizations still collectively steer and fund it. Its Executive Director is Estonian, and the board presidency rotates among the three parent organizations. An extremely effective organization, JBANC works to get congressional and public support for legislation related to Baltic security. A highly significant example, in 1997, the presidents of the Estonian Latvian, and Lithuanian national organizations in the U.S. testified before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee to voice Baltic Americans’ support for NATO expansion. Over the past two years, in the face of Russia’s 2023 invasion of Ukraine, JBANC has been tirelessly making the case for Ukraine defense, humanitarian aid, and sanctions against Russia. It has also helped mobilize protest actions among Baltic Americans who have turned out with flags and signs to rally against Russian brutality. As more than one appreciative Ukrainian has stated, “We don’t have to explain it to the Balts, they understand.”
JBANC coordinates and organizes visits to congress each year during the annual Baltic Advocacy week and has been instrumental to the existence of a robust and bi-partisan House Baltic Caucus. Additionally, Latvian Americans, through the American Latvian Association (ALA), have built a system for mobilizing letter writing campaigns at just the right moment and making just the right points; members of the Estonian-, Latvian-, and Lithuanian-American communities as well as their supporters make good use of these tools. The long history of building Baltic institutions in the U.S. has also included the Association for Advancement of Baltic Studies (AABS), where scholars have come together for decades to provide focus to the Baltic as an area of study. On the west coast, at Stanford University, the Green Library’s Baltic Collections is a recognized trove for scholars and lay people interested in the Baltics. On the east coast, Yale University continues to expand its Baltic Studies Program at the MacMillan Center, bringing in students from the regions and welcoming more senior Baltic scholars to teach and conduct research.
What else can we do together at this moment? In Europe, the Baltics and other EU members are working together in new ways on collective defense. On our side of the transatlantic divide, we must bolster commitment in the US congress, within our own communities, and among the broad American public, to transatlantic security and to the trans-Atlantic relationship itself. Even while the ultimate goal is strategic capability in Europe, there is no substitute yet for a US role and aid.
Without a doubt Baltic security is strengthened when the advocates abroad have a positive view and strong connection to their homelands, be these academic, business, cultural, familial, friendship, or other ties. The Estonian government, too, has recognized the value of cultivating these connections and has built new bridges through such programs as e-residency, Global Estonian, and other programs. Strong connections help battle misinformation and generate still more opportunities for working together.
The last two years have seen unprecedented cooperation and support between the US and EU in the face of Russian aggression in Ukraine and Europe more broadly. How do we sustain this level of support? Balts on both sides of the Atlantic are an almost indefatigable resource on these issues. They understand the high stakes: the fundamental working of the rules-based world. Their continued investment, support, cooperation, and mutual understanding is in all of our interests, and, if maintained, will help light the way for a brighter day.