The stabilizing Role of Conventional Arms Control
| Working Paper
The European security order as agreed upon in the 1990s has eroded dramatically. The objective of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to create a common European space of cooperative security without dividing lines has been replaced by new geopolitical zero-sum games, deep rifts, military interventions and protracted conflicts. Conventional arms control lies in ruins and the OSCE Confidence and Security-Building Measures (CSBM) are insufficient to stabilize the situation and dispel new threat perceptions.
Abstract
These developments started long before the Ukraine conflict triggered the second nadir in NATO-Russia relations since the end of the Cold War. This Deep Cuts Working Paper elaborates on the stabilizing role of conventional arms control regarding the return to security cooperation in Europe.
Modern arms control should reflect political realities to maintain relevance and promote the OSCE objective to establish an undivided security area without geopolitical zero-sum games. A narrow focus on the implementation of the Minsk agreements is not enough to overcome the political rift in Europe. In addition to their full implementation, returning to the foundations and principles of the European security order is urgently required to reverse such dangerous trends. Security cooperation and strategic restraint, ensured by conventional arms control and enhanced CSBMs, are its core elements.
