East-West Conflict and European Neutrality

East-West Conflict and European Neutrality
Author: Harto Hakovirta
Publisher:
Total Pages: 320
Release: 1988
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

This book is a comprehensive study of postwar European neutrality in the context of East-West relations. Hakovirta uses comparative case studies to explore such topics as the general features of neutral foreign policies, how the main neutrals--Austria, Finland, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland--have fared in the face of East-West confrontations, the role of neutral states as third parties in the control and resolution of East-West conflicts, and the overall viability of neutrality as an option in European foreign policy.

The Soviet Union and Cold War Neutrality and Nonalignment in Europe

The Soviet Union and Cold War Neutrality and Nonalignment in Europe
Author: Mark Kramer
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 645
Release: 2021-03-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 179363193X

The Soviet Union and Cold War Neutrality and Nonalignment in Europe examines how the neutral European countries and the Soviet Union interacted after World War II. Amid the Cold War division of Europe into Western and Eastern blocs, several long-time neutral countries abandoned neutrality and joined NATO. Other countries remained neutral but were still perceived as a threat to the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence. Based on extensive archival research, this volume offers state-of-the-art essays about relations between Europe’s neutral states and the Soviet Union during the Cold War and how these relations were perceived by other powers.

Neutrality and Neutralism in the Global Cold War

Neutrality and Neutralism in the Global Cold War
Author: Sandra Bott
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 238
Release: 2015-12-22
Genre: History
ISBN: 1317502701

This book sheds new light on the foreign policies, roles, and positions of neutral states and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in the global Cold War. The volume places the neutral states and the NAM in the context of the Cold War and demonstrates the links between the East, the West, and the so-called Third World. In doing so, this collection provides readers an alternative way of exploring the evolution and impact of the Cold War on North-South connections that challenges traditional notions of the post-1945 history of international relations. The various contributions are framed against the backdrop of the evolution of the Cold War international system and the decolonization process in the Southern hemisphere. By juxtaposing the policies of European neutrals and countries of the NAM, this book offers new perspectives on the evolution of the Cold War. With the links between these two groups of countries receiving very little attention in Cold War scholarship, the volume thus offers a window into a hitherto neglected perspective on the Cold War. Via a series of case studies, the chapters here present new viewpoints on the evolution of the global Cold War through the exploration of the ensuing internal and (mainly) external policy choices of these nations. This book will be of much interest to students of Cold War Studies, international history, foreign policy, security studies and IR in general.

Beyond NATO

Beyond NATO
Author: Michael E. O'Hanlon
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 171
Release: 2017-08-15
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0815732589

In this new Brookings Marshall Paper, Michael O'Hanlon argues that now is the time for Western nations to negotiate a new security architecture for neutral countries in eastern Europe to stabilize the region and reduce the risks of war with Russia. He believes NATO expansion has gone far enough. The core concept of this new security architecture would be one of permanent neutrality. The countries in question collectively make a broken-up arc, from Europe's far north to its south: Finland and Sweden; Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus; Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan; and finally Cyprus plus Serbia, as well as possibly several other Balkan states. Discussion on the new framework should begin within NATO, followed by deliberation with the neutral countries themselves, and then formal negotiations with Russia. The new security architecture would require that Russia, like NATO, commit to help uphold the security of Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and other states in the region. Russia would have to withdraw its troops from those countries in a verifiable manner; after that, corresponding sanctions on Russia would be lifted. The neutral countries would retain their rights to participate in multilateral security operations on a scale comparable to what has been the case in the past, including even those operations that might be led by NATO. They could think of and describe themselves as Western states (or anything else, for that matter). If the European Union and they so wished in the future, they could join the EU. They would have complete sovereignty and self-determination in every sense of the word. But NATO would decide not to invite them into the alliance as members. Ideally, these nations would endorse and promote this concept themselves as a more practical way to ensure their security than the current situation or any other plausible alternative.

Engaged Neutrality

Engaged Neutrality
Author: Heinz Gärtner
Publisher: Lexington Books
Total Pages: 229
Release: 2017-02-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1498546196

The notion that neutrality is a phenomenon only relevant to the Cold War is false in many ways. The Cold War was about building blocks, neutrality about staying out of them. From 1975 until the end of the Cold War, neutral states offered mediation and good offices and fought against the stagnation of the détente policy especially in the framework of the CSCE. After the end of the Cold War, neutral states became active in peace-operations outside of military alliances. The concept of neutrality has proven time and again that it can adapt to new situations. In many ways, small neutral states have more room to maneuver than members of alliances or big powers. They have more acceptance and fewer geopolitical interests. Neutrality has been declared obsolete many times in its long and layered history., yet it has also made many comebacks in varying forms and contexts. Neutrality in the 21st century does not involve to staying out but engaging. In contrast to disengagement and staying out, engaged neutrality entails active participation in the international security policy in general and in international peace operations in particular. Engaged neutrality means involvement whenever possible and staying out only if necessary.

Integration And Security In Western Europe

Integration And Security In Western Europe
Author: Mathias Jopp
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2021-10-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0429715137

The contributors to this volume discuss how a West European security union would fit into the trans Atlantic and trans-European settings. Representatives from each of the West European NATO and EC member countries contribute their national views on the subject while representatives of major institutions (European Political Cooperation, the European Parliament, NATO and the West European Union) offer their international perspectives.

East-Central Europe after the Cold War

East-Central Europe after the Cold War
Author: A. Cottey
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 221
Release: 1995-10-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0230374204

'The chapters dealing with the countries' security situation are informative...an informative work.' - Pal Dunay, Deputy Director, Hungarian Institute of International Affairs, Budapest The book is a detailed examination of the evolution of the national security policies of the countries of East-Central Europe - Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary - since the East European revolutions of 1989. It also analyses the Visegrad group regional cooperation process between the East-Central European states, their relations with the main European security institutions (the European Union, NATO and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe) and their position in the European security order of the 1990s.

The Committed Neutral

The Committed Neutral
Author: Bengt A Sundelius
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2019-07-11
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1000315541

This book is a collection of essays by Swedish and American academics begins by putting into its historical perspective the classic definition of Swedish foreign policy as freedom from alliance in peace, aiming for neutrality in war and it helps to gain new insights on the Sweden's foreign policy.

The social construction of Swedish neutrality

The social construction of Swedish neutrality
Author: Christine Agius
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Total Pages: 422
Release: 2013-07-19
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1784990027

The end of the Cold War and the ‘War on Terror’ has signalled a shift in the security policies of all states. It has also led to the reconsideration of the policy of neutrality, and what being neutral means in the present age. This book examines the conceptualisation of neutrality from the Peloponnesian War to today, uncovering how neutrality has been a neglected and misunderstood subject in International Relations (IR) theory and politics. By rethinking neutrality through constructivism, this book argues that neutrality is intrinsically linked to identity. Using Sweden as a case study, it links identity, sovereignty, internationalism and solidarity to the debates about Swedish neutrality today and how neutrality has been central to Swedish identity and its worldview. It also examines the challenges to Swedish neutrality and neutrality broadly, in terms of European integration, globalisation, the decline of the state and sovereignty, and new threats to security, such as international terrorism, arguing that the norms and values of neutrality can be reworked to contribute to a more cosmopolitan international order.

Small and Medium Powers in Global History

Small and Medium Powers in Global History
Author: Jari Eloranta
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2018-09-03
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1351720856

This volume brings together a leading group of scholars to offer a new perspective on the history of conflicts and trade, focusing on the role of small and medium, or "weak", and often neutral states. Existing historiography has often downplayed the importance of such states in world trade, during armed conflicts, and as important agents in the expanding trade and global connections of the last 250 years. The country studies demonstrate that these states played a much bigger role in world and bilateral trade than has previously been assumed, and that this role was augmented by the emergence of truly global conflicts and total war. In addition to careful country or comparative studies, this book provides new data on trade and shipping during wars and examines the impact of this trade on the individual states’ economies. It spans the period from the late 18th century to the First and Second World Wars and the Cold War of the 20th century, a crucial period of change in the concept and practice of neutrality and trade, as well as periods of transition in the nature and technology of warfare. This book will be of great interest to scholars of economic history, comparative history, international relations, and political science.