Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

Author(s): Matthias Bieri, Christian Nünlist
Editor(s): Hugo Meijer, Marco Wyss
Book Title: The Handbook of European Defence Policies and Armed Forces
Pages: 407-423
Publisher(s): Oxford University Press
Publication Year: 2018
Publication Place: Oxford

A quarter of a century on from the end of the Cold War, the Ukraine crisis serves as a tragic reminder of how fragile European security still is. As the only inclusive European security organization, the OSCE once more demonstrates how useful cooperative security instruments can be to de-escalate international tensions. This chapter focuses on the OSCE’s contribution to cooperative security in Europe after 1990, particularly in the field of conventional arms control and in the building of confidence and security between European armed forces. It also reviews the arms-control regime in Europe and explains why military transparency —as achieved with the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe (CFE), the Vienna Document and the Treaty on Open Skies— is needed again in today’s security environment. The chapter also highlights that, while the Ukraine crisis underscored its need for reform, adapting the arms-control regime in Europe has become more difficult.

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