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EUROPE'S POLITICAL EMANCIPATION FROM THE PARALYSIS OF THE COLD WAR CAN BE TRACED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (OSCE), FORMERLY THE CONFERENCE ON SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE (CSCE). THE OSCE HAS EMERGED AS AN INTERGOVERNMENTAL DIPLOMATIC CONFERENCE, WITH ROOTS IN THE BLOC-TO-BLOC DIVIDED EUROPE OF THE COLD WAR. THE DEMOCRACY MOVEMENTS OF EASTERN EUROPE HAVE RECEIVED POLITICAL INSPIRATION AND LEGITIMACY FROM THE OSCE. NOW THE OSCE IS TRYING TO STRENGTHEN ITS TIES WITH NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGO'S) BECAUSE THE OSCE RECOGNIZES THE CENTRAL ROLE NGO'S PLAY IN A VITAL DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY.

Post-cold war concept of security is based on realistic postulates and emphasises a concept of state, forces,power and national interests. Military and political concept of security was dominant while the relations between the superpowers was based on the so called bipolar balance of power. Identity of states was realised by membership in military, political and economic organisations. The strategy of returning to the era of nuclear weapons reaches its full flowering. The crucial point of security after the end of Cold war consists of searching for giving answers to the threats coming from the outside and abilities of states to maintain their independent integrity against changed relations among the powers, which potentially may become enemies. Under such circumstances powers should not be ignored in any interpretation of any aspect of security, for realistic theories of international relations are still of great influence in the field of security. They will be modified in different conditions and will act in the sense of enlarged concept of security - instead of dominant concepts of political and military security typical for the Cold War era, economic, social and environmental factors will appear. Basic weakness of the realistic theories of security is in the lack of recognising the importance of cooperation between main factors in international community. This failure will be replaced neo realistic and liberal and institutional theories of security which emphasises the concept of cooperation in the first place. Concepts of power, forces and integral processes will be observed within the context of changes in the international relations.

Provides a survey of the principal items on the agenda following the end of the Cold War, focusing upon the institutions and regions where the reconsideration of security issues has been particularly profound. The book is organised into three main sections: the first examines the changed roles of the main security institutions which have survived the Cold War; NATO, the European Union/Western European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The second analyses the Central European countries, Russia and States of the former Soviet Union in terms of their ideologies, political structures and relationships of the Cold War period. Lastly the text examines the northern and southern regions of Europe where quite different perspectives and agendas are concerned.