Lithuanian Annual Strategic Review

This paper considers the peculiarities of the construction of the image of the army and the soldier in Lithuania's political discourse. It raises the question regarding whether the conception of Lithuania's army as part of NATO military forces and the objective of transforming Lithuania's army into a professional one can be reconciled with Lithuania's domestic policies' general orientation to the nation state. The changes in the image of the army and the soldier are analyzed in the broader historical/cultural context in order to relate them to the interaction of modern/postmodern normative attitudes in Lithuania's political discourse and to the peculiarities of Lithuania's attempts at creating its international identity. An analysis of public opinion polls on issues of the transformation of the military supports the conclusion of our analysis of the main strategic documents, namely, that Lithuania is currently undergoing a transition from the normative attitudes of a modern nation state to those of the postmodern model of society. This circumstance should be heeded in reforming Lithuania's armed forces.