post-Cold War Security Research Articles

Examining US Strategic Interests in South Asia: A Decade-Long Study of Triangular Relations (US-Pakistan-India) in the Post-Cold War Era

This study is devoted primarily to the security priorities of the US towards South Asia in the post-Soviet decade of the 1990s. Indeed, the world witnessed the end of Cold war with the demise of Communist USSR. The United States, therefore, nourished more enthusiastically its inherent desire of a ‘New World Order’. For this purpose, South Asia again became a ‘land of desire’ for Washington to consolidate its preponderance in the strategically vital region of Asia. The research, therefore, delves into a decade long post-cold war security environment of South Asia by analyzing the US policies towards India and Pakistan. The study uses a qualitative methodology that includes a systematic review of existing literature and primary sources, including official documents and statements to identify the important factors that have influenced US strategic partnerships in South Asia and concludes that contemporary Indo-US strategic partnership has its roots since the end of cold war.

Threat Conceptions in Global Security Discourse: Analyzing the Speech Records of the United Nations Security Council, 1990–2019

Abstract Since the end of the Cold War, the notion of global security, and presumed threats to it, has undergone considerable expansion and diversification. This process has been led by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), where active deliberations concerning “threat(s) to the peace” have taken place among major international actors. Despite a sizable accumulation of scholarly arguments, however, the defining features of the structure and dynamics of the post-Cold War security discourse remain ambiguous. To address these ambiguities, this study investigates the entire body of Council deliberations over the past three decades. Based on an original dataset consisting of policy statements delivered at the UNSC, the study employs quantitative text analysis tools, including word embedding, to examine how council members have conceived the notion of security threat in terms of the various issues and entities discussed. It shows the security discourse at the UNSC to be highly stratified and reveals the persistent and pervasive influence of terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which constitute the limited common grounds shared by the Council’s permanent members. These findings caution against the unconstrained use of certain theoretical constructs widely employed in other works, most notably, “securitization” and “interpretative community.”

Explaining third-country participation in CSDP missions: the case of the association trio – Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova

ABSTRACT This article explores the factors underpinning third-country participation in EU military and civilian missions, by focusing on one particular category of CSDP participating non-EU states, namely the Association Trio - Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia. While these three states share several characteristics, including their form of association with the EU, their engagement in the Eastern Partnership, a similar geostrategic environment and common security threats, the extent of their CSDP involvement varies widely. The article explains this variation through a combination of third country-specific and EU-level variables, against the background of the broader post-Cold War security environment and the three countries' deepening integration with the EU. The role conceptions of the three countries stand out as a variable providing an accurate expectation of their foreign policy behaviour, anticipating Ukraine's prominent role in peacekeeping, Moldova's low-key involvement as a neutral state and Georgia's prioritisation of NATO. At a more practical level, the variation among the three countries' contributions to CSDP missions is to be understood in light of their human and financial resources, institutional capacities and adequacy of legal frameworks, as well as the EU's selective opening up of missions to third countries and the highly competitive selection process for civilian personnel.

Classical Realism and Ukraine: Constructing the Causes

In February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine once again, this time starting a conflict of a scale not seen in Europe since WWII. The classical realism model of international relations provides insight into Russia’s actions, while a social constructivist perspective can further refine that insight. Historically, the initial positive post-Soviet relations between Russia and the former Soviet states gave way to more fraught relations as Russia expected to maintain those states as a border security bulwark. The West failed to integrate Russia into a post-Cold War security structure, while at the same time, Russia took aggressive actions against neighbours such as Chechnya and Georgia, inciting states in the region to look to the West and NATO. Russian actions, properly understood, represent the archetypal realist state attempting to improve security, but they can also be understood in terms of the socially constructed identities of the nation and of Vladimir Putin himself and their quest for “great powerness” (derzhavnost). Likewise, the West’s response represents a realist method to reduce the power of an adversary, but the magnitude and unity of the response also suggest that more is at stake than mere security: the backlash comes from the affront to the European norm against wars of aggression. It is likely that the conflict will last for quite some time, though the chances of nuclear war, while scary, are slim in light of Russian nuclear doctrine and how they employ nuclear rhetoric.

The Security Landscape from the International Law Perspectives on the New-Taliban-Afghanistan State

Post-cold war security in international relations is identified as security in the global contemporary. Contemporary global issues are closely related to issues that are no longer dominated by East-West relations, such as the threat of nuclear war, ideological competition between Liberal-Democracy and Marxism-Leninism, crisis diplomacy, and so on. In the perspective of liberalism, peace and security are important for the international system, being considered by international law and organizations. However, recent developments in Afghanistan and Ukraine mark a challenge to this idea and challenge the consistency of peace and security under international law. This study uses a qualitative method by using secondary sources and classifying the data into two, namely security and international law to investigate the situation in Afghanistan. The method of analysis of the Taliban regime in international law uses a juridical-normative approach. The results of the juridical-normative research to describe the situation in Afghanistan are then correlated with the security aspects of the security situation. It is in the case of the new-Taliban state that the situation of the "vacuum" of international law in terms of government recognition can be hijacked to obtain the "approval" of the new regime. The security landscape in the perspective of International Law is fragile against minorities and the vulnerable which can create an unstable international system and encourage the possibility of certain powers to take action to take the opportunity given under the doctrine of effective control. Where must pay attention to aspects of human security, which are related to the obligation to fulfill, respect, and protect human rights recognized in International Human Rights Law. This shows the consistency of actions by member states at the UN, especially big powers like the US and its allies, otherwise similar problems will happen again in the future and weaken the international system as already started in Ukraine.

The evolving role of the OSCE in the shaping of european security

This article analyses the role of the CSCE/OSCE in the shaping of European security. The 1975 Helsinki Final Act put forward a broad understanding of security, implying economic, societal and other non-traditional dimensions of security, which was an innovation at the time, and promoted the idea of comprehensive security. The fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Soviet Union were understood then as an opportunity for promoting the “Common European home” principles as put forward by Gorbachev. This new context conferred a renewed sense of belonging to the “wide Europe” with no dividing walls. However, European security evolved differently; with different understandings and perceptions about the “other” taking shape, and creating lines of dissension in the articulation of an inclusive security order sought by the OSCE. The article argues the OSCE had difficulties in adjusting to the new postCold War security context, providing a mixed assessment of the organisation’s role in European security. This is so due to several factors, including the working rules of the organisation, the role and positioning of Russia within and towards the OSCE, and the drawing of the European security architecture around NATO and what this means to the OSCE as a piece in the European security puzzle.

Turkey's Post-Cold War Security Threat Perception: A Review Over Decisions to Send Troops Abroad

Bu çalışma, Türkiye’nin Soğuk Savaş sonrası güvenlik tehdidi algılamalarını, Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi (TBMM) tarafından kabul edilen askeri tezkere kararları üzerinden incelemektedir. Teorik çerçeve bakımından Kopenhag Okulu’nun güvenlikleştirme yaklaşımını kullanan bu çalışma, Soğuk Savaş sonrasında TBMM tarafından kabul edilen askeri tezkere kararlarının gerekçe metinleri Türkiye’nin güvenlik tehdidi algılamaları bakımından analiz etmiştir. Nitekim askeri tezkerelerin her birine ait bir gerekçe metninin bulunuyor olması, güvenlikleştirme yaklaşımının bu konuya yönelik iyi bir çerçeve oluşturabilmesinin önünü açmaktadır. Bu noktada, TBMM tarafından, 1990-2021 yılları arasında toplamda 95 askeri tezkere kabul edilmiştir. Bu askeri tezkerelerin 47 tanesinde gerekçe olarak Türkiye’nin güvenliği ve/veya Türkiye’ye yönelik bir güvenlik tehdidi belirtilmiştir. Çalışmanın ulaştığı en temel sonuç, Türkiye’nin Soğuk Savaş sonrasındaki güvenlik tehdidi algısı, güney kara sınırındaki meseleler etrafında şekillendirdiğidir. Bu noktada, bir süreklilik halinde, Irak ve Suriye’den askeri ve/veya düzensiz göçe dair bir güvenlik tehdidi algılayan Türkiye, zaman içerisinde söz konusu bu tehdit algılamalarının kaynağı olarak PKK/YPG/PYD ya da DEAŞ gibi devlet dışı aktörlerin de içerisinde bulunduğu farklı aktörleri belirtmiştir. Elbette ki söz konusu bu dönemde Türkiye’nin güvenlik algısı yalnızca askeri tezkerelere konu olmuş ülke veya aktörlerce şekillenmemişse de askeri tezkerelerin incelenmesi somut bazı çıkarımlar yapılabilmesine olanak tanımıştır. Bu noktada, Türkiye’nin güvenlik algısı 1990’larda Irak’tan kaynaklı meselelerle şekillenmişse de sonradan Suriye’den kaynaklı meselelerle birlikte büyük bir değişim geçirdiğini söylemek mümkündür. Bu süreç irdelendiğinde hem güvenlik tehdidinin kaynaklandığı aktör sayısında bir artış gözlemlenmiştir hem de tehdidin konusunun ve yapısının çeşitlendiği görülmüştür. Bunun yanında tüm bu başarılı güvenlikleştirmelerde, güvenlik tehdidi bakımından askeri sektör birincil olarak mevcut iken, aynı zamanda, ekonomik ve toplumsal sektör de tezkere metinlerinde zaman zaman vurgulanan sektörler olmuştur.

The impact of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict on military expenditures of European states: security alliances or geography?

ABSTRACT The Russo-Ukrainian conflict has shaken the European post-Cold War security order. In response, European leaders started to talk about the need to strengthen the defense of European nations. This article quantitatively analyses changes in military expenditures of European states in the aftermath of the Russo-Ukrainian conflict. There are significant differences in changes in ME´s of European states, which however cannot be explained by freeriding within NATO, the relative power of individual states, within-state variables or by membership in the EU. Instead, our results indicate that it was the distance from Russia which drove changes. Interestingly, while traditional operationalization of distance based on fly distance from capital-to-capital showed strong explanatory power, our operationalization based on road distance fared even better. Our results indicate that even in the 21st century distance remains an important geopolitical factor.

US political and military involvement in the security of Central and Eastern Europe after 1989 – the example of Poland

The article discusses how the United States of America has contributed to the security of Central and Eastern Europe, both politically and militarily, since the end of the Cold War, using Poland’s example. It shows that the United States committed itself to the security of both Poland and the region, following the collapse of communism in Poland in 1989, albeit to a varying degree in different countries. America played a pivotal role in NATO enlargement in the 1990s, and in extending security assurances to Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic, as well as to other countries in the subsequent years. It has continued to assist Poland with its defence reform, thus enhancing its military capabilities. It was also instrumental in strengthening NATO’s eastern flank after 2014, a salient point on Poland’s security agenda since it acceded to the Alliance. It is argued that American political and military involvement in Poland’s security has been both substantial and beneficial, and there is a real need for continued political and military cooperation with the USA and its presence in the region. In the article, the determinants of Poland’s post-Cold War security policy are outlined. Next, the roles that both countries have played in each other’s policies are explained. After that, the US contribution to Poland’s security, both in the political and military spheres, is presented. Finally, an attempt is made to evaluate American involvement, and the author’s perspective on the future of the Poland-US cooperation is offered.

THE EFFECTS OF PARTY IDEOLOGY ON PUBLIC ORDER AND SAFETY SPENDING IN FORMER SOCIALIST COUNTRIES

The study is designed to empirically test the effects which different ruling party ideologies have on spending for public order and safety budget component in Central and Eastern European countries. The transitional environment and especially post-Cold War security context have altered the concept of security in former socialist societies. Our assumption, based not just on theoretical concepts of left and right ideologies, but also on studies examining this matter in more developed Western democracies, was that right-leaning cabinets will have higher levels of budget consumption for law and order than leftist governments. The empirical model confirmed this hypothesis, albeit only partially. A number of other political, economic, and contextual variables connected with transitional setting, which usually have effect on general levels of spending or certain budget areas, have demonstrated a low significance when comes to law and order spending.

Bezbednosni menadžment u oblasti zaštite kritične infrastrukture u Republici Srbiji - stanje i perspektive

Term "critical infrastructure" became part of the post-Cold War security discourse when the first legal and political acts, containing this term, emerged. The Law on Critical Infrastructure in the Republic of Serbia was adopted in 2018, and some of the most important issues regulated by the Law are the competences and responsibilities of entities in the critical infrastructure protection system. The subject of our research was security management in the field of critical infrastructure protection. As a result of the research in the paper: 1. Levels, types and competencies of security management in the field of critical infrastructure protection have been identified; 2. Their mutual relationship has been determined and 3. Recommendations of measures and solutions that need to be taken in order to establish an integrated protection system in this area have been given.

Beyond the Involution of Europe? Monism and Relations with Russia. Part 2

The crisis in relations between Russia and the European Union (EU) is part of the broader breakdown of the post-Cold War security order. This essay focuses on structural interpretation and identifies four interlinked processes shaping the crisis: tension between the logic of the enlargement and transformation; a dynamic of involution and resistance; the problem of monism, whereby the expanding self is unable adequately to engage with the un-integrated other; and the recent emergence of ‘other Europes’ that may potentially overcome involution. The erosion of the Atlantic system provides an opportunity for delayed institutional and ideational innovation. Based on the methodology of classical realism and modern constructivist theories, the author analyzes how the lack of mutual understanding and mistakes in understanding the intentions and actions of Russia, on the one hand, and the West, on the other, led to deep structural and cognitive contradictions that managed to renew confrontation between the Euro-Atlantic bloc and Russia. The author comes to the conclusion that the impossibility of implementing the “Greater Europe” project with the participation of Russia led to a deepening of the contradictions between Russia and the West, and also forced Moscow to look for an alternative to European integration in the “Greater Eurasia” project. At the same time, the European Union also entered a crisis stage, as evidenced by Brexit.

The Anglo-American military relationship: Institutional rules, practices, and narratives

ABSTRACT The Anglo-American military relationship is a vital yet neglected area of study. This article argues that the British military have actively cultivated a relationship with the U.S. military that has contributed to the longevity of the broader so-called “Special Relationship,” even in the Trump era. The article contends that the complexities of the military relationship can best be captured by the theoretical lens provided by Lowndes and Roberts that combines different strands of institutionalism to focus on rules, practices, and narratives. The intense linkages between the United States and United Kingdom have become routinized, enabling them to adapt their peacetime cooperation to conflicts, and thereby address post-Cold War security challenges. The article draws upon semi-structured interviews with senior British military officers as well as policy documents to explore how these patterns of collaboration have become ingrained in patterns of both thinking and behavior.

Russia and the European security order revisited: from the congress of Vienna to the post-cold war

ABSTRACTRussia’s role in the international order is often explained with reference to historical examples, analogies and longue durée trends. This article examines Russia’s role in, and visions of, the international order from the Congress of Vienna to the end of the Cold War. The article also discusses the lessons, and perhaps also the wrong lessons, that the current Russian leadership and elite have drawn on the basis of past grand bargains. It concludes that in the course of history, there has been more variation than continuity in Russia’s policy towards the European security system and, moreover, that the post-Cold War security order in Europe was not imposed on Russia during the years immediately following the end of the Cold War.

One Europe or None? Monism, Involution and Relations with Russia

The crisis in relations between Russia and the European Union (EU) is part of the broader breakdown of the post-Cold War security order. This commentary focuses on structural interpretation and identifies four interlinked processes shaping the crisis: tension between the logic of the enlargement and transformation; a dynamic of involution and resistance; the problem of monism, whereby the expanding self is unable adequately to engage with the un-integrated other; and the recent emergence of ‘other Europes’ that may potentially overcome involution. The erosion of the Atlantic system provides an opportunity for delayed institutional and ideational innovation.

An economy of protection: agency, responsibility and the criminalization of HIV

This article analyzes the protection logic that legitimizes criminalization and investigates how this logic affects gender and state-citizen relations. Viewing criminalization as a political response to the challenge HIV poses to the post-Cold War security state, the article examines the intersection between protection as a pretext for controlling vulnerable groups and criminalization as a way to withdraw protection. The article analyzes the constructions of those in need of protection (referents) and the providers of protection according to HIV-specific state laws and media reports of arrests and prosecutions, and it shows that the requirements for being considered worthy of protection are highly gendered. The article argues that laws and the media construct the idea that a popular demand for protection exists and that criminalization practices are produced as the supply needed to meet this demand.

Beyond the Involution of Europe? Monism and Relations with Russia. Part 1

The crisis in relations between Russia and the European Union (EU) is part of the broader breakdown of the post-Cold War security order. This essay focuses on structural interpretation and identifies four interlinked processes shaping the crisis: tension between the logic of the enlargement and transformation; a dynamic of involution and resistance; the problem of monism, whereby the expanding self is unable adequately to engage with the un-integrated other; and the recent emergence of ‘other Europes’ that may potentially overcome involution. The erosion of the Atlantic system provides an opportunity for delayed institutional and ideational innovation. Based on the methodology of classical realism and modern constructivist theories, the author analyzes how the lack of mutual understanding and mistakes in understanding the intentions and actions of Russia, on the one hand, and the West, on the other, led to deep structural and cognitive contradictions that managed to renew confrontation between the Euro-Atlantic bloc and Russia. The author comes to the conclusion that the impossibility of implementing the “Greater Europe” project with the participation of Russia led to a deepening of the contradictions between Russia and the West, and also forced Moscow to look for an alternative to European integration in the “Greater Eurasia” project. At the same time, the European Union also entered a crisis stage, as evidenced by Brexit.

Soğuk Savaş Sonrası Güvenlik Ortamında AB-NATO İlişkileri

This article aims to analyze the EU-NATO relations
 in the post-Cold War security context in order to find out whether the two
 interlocking organizations cohabitate or separate. The first part of the
 article discusses the evolution of EU-NATO relations in the post-Cold War era.
 The second part analyzes the resolution of the main obstacle for the
 finalization of the security arrangement between EU and NATO, which would
 enable the EU to use NATO assets and capabilities through Berlin Plus
 arrangement. The third part examines the first EU-led military operation with
 recourse to NATO assets, Operation Concordia (2003). This article concludes
 that evolving and dynamic nature of the EU and NATO relations do not allow us
 to give a clear answer to whether the EU and NATO cohabitate or separate. The
 answer to this question is closely dependent on the political will of major
 powers to overcome obstacles for effective EU-NATO relationship. However, given
 the insecure environment of the post-Cold War era and new security challenges
 like global terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, it can be
 argued that EU and NATO should strive for cohabiting and working together in a
 complementary and harmonious way to tackle with these challenges.

Unia Europejska wobec problemu proliferacji broni masowego rażenia. Wpływ kryzysu dotyczącego irańskiego programu atomowego na kształtowanie się oraz implementację strategii Wspólnoty

Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) has been one of the most prominent threat discussed in the post-Cold War security studies. The article presents analyses of the European Union policies towards proliferation of WMD and the impact of the political crisis around Iranian nuclear programme on them. Based on documents of the EU and the International Atomic Energy Agency, two processes are identified as the main source of the EU agenda on non-proliferation. Firstly, internal dynamics of the negotiations on the EU strategy against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in 2003, including performance of a specific agents promoting their ideas and interests. Secondly, the evolution of the EU role in the debate around Iranian nuclear programme between 2003–2015. Negotiations with Iran are identified as the biggest challenge for the EU policy on WMD so far, with positive conclusions about successful implementation of multilateral mechanisms.

New sources of military change – armed forces as normal organizations

The literature on how European states have adapted to the post-cold war security environment ffocuses invariably on different understandings of military transformation, a process which is seen as inherently different from other forms of organizational change. However, as this paper argues, new management practices, going back to the introduction of so-called New Public Management (NPM) reforms throughout Europe in the 1980s, have eventually penetrated also the last bastion of the old state – the defense sector. Taking a critical approach to the idea of military transformation and existing theories of military change, the paper demonstrates how other international developments have pushed towards what may be seen as a “normalization” of Europe’s defense sectors. This has important implications for how we approach and understand change in contemporary defense organizations.