Cooperative security is the only sustainable approach to conflict prevention
The future of European security depends on recognizing that cooperative security is the only sustainable approach to preventing conflict. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) provides a ready-made framework for de-escalation, but it has remained underutilized in favour of North-Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (NATO) threat-based security architecture. The result has been perpetual security dilemmas, particularly in Eastern Europe, where NATO expansion has triggered counter-reactions from Russia. By contrast, t he Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ ( ASEAN ) diplomatic model, heavily influenced by the Helsinki Process (1972-1975), has managed to prevent a security dilemma in Southeast Asia—despite the existence of major territorial disputes in the South China Sea. Rather than following the European pattern of securitizing every conflict, ASEAN has institutionalized a culture of trust and mutual accommodation among elites, leading to the avoi...