Within these pages is a veritable banquet for those who savour the politics of international security. The reader is offered factual analysis, insight, new perspectives, revisited concepts, problem spotting and recipes for solutions. Academic observers from a dozen different countries in Eastern and Western Europe and on both sides of the Atlantic subject a large number of questions of topical interest in the security field to one or other of these forms of treatment. Their debate embraces reinforcement of the European pillar of the Alliance; adjustment of the balance of responsibilities between the two sides of the Atlantic; and shoring up the transatlantic partnership and perhaps broadening it into that elusive concept, a `transatlantic community', stretching into economic and other fields. They address the perceived security vacuum in parts of Central and Eastern Europe and discuss measures to build up greater confidence between former Cold War antagonists and ways of developing in them the habits of co-operation rather than counter-operation. They draw up architectural designs for the security of the twenty-first century and grapple with the conflict of ideas circulating about the Alliance's future and particularly about its future relationship with Russia. Isolationism, nationalism, multilateralism, realism, constructivism and other -isms are helpfully put into context. Renationalisation, denationalisation and identities in formation or in decline are also investigated.

This book offers a novel contribution to the study of post-Cold War European defence. Interdisciplinary in approach, it uses European law to assess the utility of existing theoretical accounts. By exploring the balance of threat theory, it provides new insights into the forces driving and hindering European defence cooperation.

International institutions play important roles in political-military issues as well as in economic and environmental affairs. Indeed, it is impossible to understand efforts to resolve regional and local conflicts, or the form and pace of alliance formation and expansion, without paying attention to security institutions. Imperfect Unions discusses a wide variety of security institutions, including NATO, the Western European Union, United Nations peacekeeping, the ASEAB Regional Forum, and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. It describes changes in security institutions, documents the effects of such institutions on national policies, and explores the conditions that affect the patterns of co-operation and discord that ensue. The book helps to improve our understanding of recent developments in international relations such as NATO enlargement and the regionalization of peacekeeping. In theoretical terms, it shows how institutionalist approaches, such as those represented in this volume, can enrich the important field of security studies.

Derived from the renowned multi-volume International Encyclopaedia of Laws, this practical analysis of the structure, competence, and management of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) provides substantial and readily accessible information for lawyers, academics, and policymakers likely to have dealings with its activities and data. No other book gives such a clear, uncomplicated description of the organization’s role, its rules and how they are applied, its place in the framework of international law, or its relations with other organizations. The monograph proceeds logically from the organization’s genesis and historical development to the structure of its membership, its various organs and their mandates, its role in intergovernmental cooperation, and its interaction with decisions taken at the national level. Its competence, its financial management, and the nature and applicability of its data and publications are fully described. Systematic in presentation, this valuable time-saving resource offers the quickest, easiest way to acquire a sound understanding of the workings of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for all interested parties. Students and teachers of international law will find it especially valuable as an essential component of the rapidly growing and changing global legal milieu.

This book brings together leading scholars to consider the legal impact of the precedent set by Kosovo’s 2008 declaration of independence and its consequences for statehood, self-determination and minority rights.

This book examines the extent to which German foreign policy has changed since unification, and analyzes the fundamental reasons behind this change. The book has three main aims. The essays develop theories of foreign policy to predict and explain Germany's foreign policy behavior. They test competing predictions about German foreign policy behavior since unification in several issue areas. They also assess the much-debated question as to whether post-unification Germany's foreign policy is marked by continuity or change.

Provides a survey of the principal items on the agenda following the end of the Cold War, focusing upon the institutions and regions where the reconsideration of security issues has been particularly profound. The book is organised into three main sections: the first examines the changed roles of the main security institutions which have survived the Cold War; NATO, the European Union/Western European Union and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. The second analyses the Central European countries, Russia and States of the former Soviet Union in terms of their ideologies, political structures and relationships of the Cold War period. Lastly the text examines the northern and southern regions of Europe where quite different perspectives and agendas are concerned.