Setting the Foundations for European Security Cooperation in the 1990s: 1990–1991

Abstract

By the end of the 1980s, following the process of reassessment of Western European positions between the superpowers, a certain degree of confidence had emerged in Western Europe, in contrast to the inertia and dependence of the 1970s and early 1980s, particularly with the revitalisation of the WEU as a security forum. However, any attempts at revitalising European security cooperation were overtaken by the swift realisation of the incredible changes which took place in Central and Eastern Europe at the end of 1989. This triggered a further process of significant changes which completely altered the premises upon which the postwar order in Europe was built. It is not the aim of this study to elaborate on the historical details of the Eastern European revolutions, which have already been covered extensively in other studies. The aim is to analyse the Western European reactions to these changes and in general to continue the story of Western European security cooperation in a new era.