This article addresses the question of whether and to what degree an instrument of preventive diplomacy that does not have any coercive measures at its disposal, such as the High Commissioner on ...National Minorities (HCNM) of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), can become 'effective'. The paper explores key terms such as 'national minority' and 'preventive diplomacy' and examines the way in which these terms were conceptualized by the HCNM itself. Further on, it elaborates what constitutes effectiveness in an international institution such as the HCNM. The research design focuses first on the triangular primary conflict constellation among a national minority, a nationalizing State and a kin-state as the independent variable and its impact on the dependent variable, the level of escalation. In a second step, the focus is on the efforts of the HCNM as the intervening variable. Three types of HCNM effectiveness are conceptualized: operational, substantive and normative. Subsequently, the applicability of this research instrument is shown through the example of three (groups of) national minorities: three cases of Russian-speaking minorities (in Estonia, Latvia and Ukraine), one case of a Hungarian minority (in Romania), and another of an Albanian minority (in Macedonia). The empirical data on these cases, which cover the period from 1993 to 2001, are taken from a research project on the effectiveness of the HCNM, which the author directed from 1999 to 2002.1 The purpose is not to carry out full-fledged country studies, but to demonstrate what kind of effectiveness the HCNM can achieve under which conditions, and where the limits of this effectiveness lie. Adapted from the source document.
nato and Russia have given up on cooperative approaches and returned to deterrence; in parallel, arms control regimes are collapsing or eroding. Any deterrence relationship involves a danger of ...uncontrolled escalation, aggravated by uncertainty, sub-regional crises and a larger role for nuclear weapons. This article explores the possibilities for addressing these threats by means of sub-regional conventional arms control, combining disengagement with transparency and verification measures. Such an approach would address the real threat, mainly by adapting existing agreements, and would also be inexpensive in financial terms.
Conventional arms control in Europe has yet been predominantly conceived in terms of the outdated Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty. This article explores options for conventional arms ...control beyond CFE for various demand areas, including sub-regional arms control, new military capabilities and categories of equipment as well as the nexus between crisis management and arms control.
Conventional arms control in Europe has yet been predominantly conceived in terms of the outdated Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty. This article explores options for conventional arms ...control beyond CFE for various demand areas, including subregional arms control, new military capabilities and categories of equipment as well as the nexus between crisis management and arms control.
After almost two years of high hopes and ambitions -- the Corfu process, the 2010 Astana Commemorative Declaration with its "vision of a free, democratic, common and indivisible Euro-Atlantic and ...Eurasian security community" -- the 2011 Vilnius Ministerial Council (MC) meeting has brought the OSCE back to the lowly spheres of European security policy. Although we have become used to Ministerial Council meetings that cannot agree on a political declaration (the last one adopted dates back to the 2002 Porto MC meeting) or on statements on unresolved conflicts, the results of the Vilnius MC meeting are particularly meagre: of course, no political communique and no statements on conflicts, but also almost no decisions on human dimension issues and on transnational threats and challenges, although the latter questions should have represented one major area of progress for this MC meeting. Adapted from the source document.
Argues that the Cooperative Security policy committed to by the OSCE States in the 1990 Charter of Paris is being largely ignored in 2010 which has been dominated by unilateral & confrontational ...approaches. The relationship between the principle of Cooperative Security & its implementation is analyzed, along with the impact of non-implementation on intra-state conflicts, transnational threats, arms control, membership in other regional/international organizations, & human rights. The implications for the current security dialogue are discussed. J. Lindroth
Essay in a symposium on international statesman Max van der Stoel and his important contribution to promoting security and human rights. Adapted from the source document.
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