Contents | Key Points | Foreword | Preface | One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Appendixes: 1 2 3 | Notes | Author

The Quest for Democratic Security The Role of the Council of Europe and U.S. Foreign Policy

Preface

This study is concerned with the Council of Europe and its efforts to promote democratic security—a political concept agreed on by thirty-one heads of state or government when they gathered in the Austrian capital in October 1993 and adopted what became known as the Vienna Declaration. The concept proceeds from the theory of democratic peace, which holds that democracies—even when there are temporary tensions among them—are unlikely to go to war with one another. Thus, the Vienna Declaration aims at establishing a “vast area of democratic security in Europe.”

     For the democratic peace theory to work as assumed, individual democracies must be stable. Therefore, the assistance extended to the new or emerging democracies in Central and Eastern Europe after 1997 is aimed not only at introducing democratic structures of government and democratic laws, but also at ensuring their stability. This includes transmitting democratic ideals and democratic thinking to the citizens of these countries.

     Individual countries as well as European, transatlantic, and intercontinental institutions and numerous nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) offer such assistance and cooperation. Without underestimating their important contributions, this study concentrates on the Council of Europe for several reasons:

• First, as an association of democratic European states, the Council of Europe (as of March 1998) has already received in its midst sixteen former communist states of Central and Eastern Europe (see appendix 1).

• Second, while cooperating and coordinating with other organizations and governments, the Council of Europe has put into practice the most comprehensive program of technical assistance and cooperation for the emerging democracies. This is not surprising: Maintaining democratic values and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms have been the Council’s essential raison d’être since its inception in 1949.

• Third, although it was the first political association of states founded in Europe after World War II, the Council of Europe is little known in the United States (though well known in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe).

     If it is true that American and European security are inseparable—and security cannot be conceived in military and economic terms only—the Council of Europe’s important contribution to the democratic transition in the Eastern half of Europe, and to democratic security all over the continent, merits the attention of U.S. policymakers. As the United States pursues the same goal of promoting and strengthening democratic institutions in former communist countries, more cooperation with the geographically largest and specifically European organization (limited to states whose territory is wholly or partly situated on the European continent) would be in the interest of all parties concerned, as would information sharing and better coordination of efforts.

     I am greatly indebted to my research assistant, Kimberly Cowell. In fact, she has been much more than an assistant. A good part of this study has grown out of our interchange of ideas. Needless to say, I owe much to the advice of my program officer, Sally Blair, as well as to the constructive criticism of editor Peter Pavilionis. Even before my arrival in Washington, I was privileged to benefit from the advice of Dr. Joseph Klaits, director of the Jennings Randolph fellowship program at the United States Institute of Peace.

     I am grateful for the advice of Frederick Quinn and James Apple of the Federal Judicial Center, and of Professor Allen Weinstein and his colleagues of the Center for Democracy.

     Naturally, it was important for me to particularly discuss parts 3 and 4 with State Department officials concerned with European affairs. I would like to thank them for the time they spared me—in particular, director Shirley Barnes, deputy director James Foster, senior policy adviser Dan Hamilton in the Office of the Secretary of State, and political officer Brian Walch.

     Last but not least, I am grateful to three peer reviewers who carefully read my text and came forward with many useful suggestions to improve it. Farida Jamal and Deborah Matthew-Heys patiently helped me make the corresponding corrections on the computer.

Contents | Key Points | Foreword | Preface | One | Two | Three | Four | Five | Appendixes: 1 2 3 | Notes | Author

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