Lithuania’s Foreign and Security Policies during the War on Terrorism
Lithuania’s Foreign and Security Policies during the War on Terrorism

Summary/Abstract: Lithuania was one of the small European countries that participated in the War on Terror’s secret detention programme designed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001. The focus of this paper is to understand the impact the War on Terrorism has had on Lithuanian foreign and security policies and to see what small countries in the Western Balkan region can learn from this. The paper considers a case study investigated in the period before, during and after the programme was underway. We employ a qualitative content analysis approach that focuses on the practical effectiveness of Lithuanian legal acts and the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights. The Lithuanian authorities allowed CIA to operate on its territory that triggered an unprecedented political scandal and several ineffective and delayed investigations by the Prosecutor General. The government representatives who once denied and then confirmed the existence of secret prisons have seriously damaged Lithuania’s reputation with respect to the protection of human rights.

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