Helsinki+40 in the Historical Context – Christian Nünlist

Title: Helsinki+40 in the Historical Context
Author: Christian Nünlist

Helsinki+40 in the Historical Context [Nünlist]

Abstract

The Ukraine Crisis has negatively impacted the reform process ‘Helsinki+40’ of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). The idea to conclude this process by holding an OSCE summit in 2015, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, evaporated after Russia’s annexation of Crimea. To overcome the differences with Moscow, it is necessary to compare two radically different narratives on the evolution of the OSCE after 1990. As long as historical facts are mixed with myths, a common vision of European security between Russia and the West remains a distant dream. In the meantime, ‘common security’ might be more relevant for today’s OSCE than ‘common values’.

Keywords

Russia – Ukraine crisis – CSCE process – Helsinki Final Act (1975) – Charter of Paris (1990) – Astana declaration (2010) – NATO enlargement – German reunification (1990) – Corfu process

Metadata

Title: Helsinki+40 in the Historical Context
Author: Christian Nünlist
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1163/18750230-02502004
Language: English
Year: 2014
Volume: 25
Issue: 2
Pages: 198–209
In: Security and Human Rights
E-ISSN: 1875-0230