Security governance after the war in Ukraine

Abstract

At the end of the Cold War European states, together with Canada and the United States, agreed to base their relations on a new approach to politico-military, human, economic and environmental security embedded in a comprehensive security system. This system was already under strain when Russia launched its war of aggression against Ukraine in February 2022. Regardless of the outcome of the fighting in Ukraine, the current security system is broken beyond repair and new long-term arrangements will have to be agreed upon. The new system must include the many states that remain committed to comprehensive security, and it must bring Ukraine into the military security structures that can safeguard against future aggression. Until a change in Russian behavior has been sustained over a long period it will not be possible for Russia to join any new arrangements. The new system will differentiate between the internal rules binding its members around the values of comprehensive security and the policies and practices necessary to safeguard European interests globally.