Nov 20, 2025
There’s something quietly moving watching Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania respond to Russian pressure from Moscow not with panic, but with art exchanges, school partnerships across borders, and teenagers teaching each other how to spot disinformation. Sweden joining NATO has given them extra breathing space, and they’re using it to knit their societies tighter, not just their militaries.
It’s the opposite of chest-thumping. It’s community defence.
And it leaves me wondering whether Australia—far away but never untouched—could learn to layer our alliances with the same everyday human connections. Because in the end, deterrence isn’t only steel and satellites; it’s people choosing to stand together.