Small States and the Security Structures of Europe: The Search for Security after the Cold War

Abstract

From Portugal to Poland and beyond, the dissolution of the unique political and strategic milieu of the Cold War has compelled a reappraisal of national security policies. Once again, European countries are seeking security in a continent that has undergone a major structural transformation, although mercifully this most recent transformation occured without a devastating war. And once again, the foreign policies and security activities of the great powers are receiving the lion’s share of attention from scholars, the media, and foreign service bureaucracies. This comes as no surprise, for the decisions of the great powers — Great Britian, France, and Germany, as well as the United States — will be pivotal in the shaping of the post-Cold War security environment in Europe. At issue is the extent to which national security policies can be harmonized, and what institutional framework will evolve as the preferred instrument of coordinated foreign and security policy activity.

Institute of International Relations, University of British Columbia/ Austrian Institute for International Affairs