Overcoming Threats to Europe: A New Deal for Confidence and Security

Europe is stable politically, but in the military sphere it is becoming more unstable. Any search for new ways to reduce the threats to European security needs to find the key to this anomaly.

This book argues that the rift between political and military stability is due to the imposition of superpower rivalry on Europe and the militarization of political thinking. The groundwork for this analysis is an examination of the threats to European security as perceived by France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Hungary, Poland, Sweden and Yugoslavia. This reveals the dominant threat perception to be the fear of inadvertent war.

To build confidence and security, the book recommends a comprehensive approach aimed at the Europeanization of international affairs in the region. The new deal could involve a package of military, political, and economic concessions and benefits. The importance of the CSCE (Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe) is emphasized and priority tasks for the CDE (Conference on Disarmament in Europe) are suggested.