Page 32 - Cormorant Issue 20 2017

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RSE 1 - Romania
Lt Col Chris Yates
Dracula’s castle visited as part of the cultural element of the RSE
“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing.”
THE REGIONAL SECURITY EXERCISE 1 to Romania was a perception changing visit to a NATO country that rmly believes it is on the frontier
with an expansionist and revanchist Russia. The access to the most senior personnel from Romania’s defence and security
apparatus including minsters, a national security advisor and their Deputy Chief of the General Staff (DCGS) was impressive alone but unexpectedly matched with a candour rarely seen in the Cormorant Hall. It was refreshing that each speaker presented a coherent view but not one formed from lines to take; there was a clear message but it was not a manufactured one. The message was a simple one – open your eyes; the
Russians are coming! This is no shrill ‘cry wolf’ but a view born of past history, deep cultural mistrust and witnessing direct effects on Romanian security by Russian actions in the region. At times the presenters’ responses to our questions were eye wateringly honest and in the vernacular of the International Security Studies (ISS) phase, liberalists were a scarcity, social constructivists non-existent and realists around every corner.
The rst common misunderstanding is that Romanians are not a Slavic people, but they consider themselves culturally Latin and by overt implication more advanced than their Slavic neighbours. This also plays to their sense of Slavic encirclement and a national viewpoint that is more aligned with Western Europe. There were plenty of examples of Russian aggression and its malign in uence in the region and stark belief that Russia has no soft power.
C.S. Lewis