The role of non-military organizations in the European security architecture has been greatly enhanced in the post–Cold War era. Although NATO can protect its members through the force of arms, security involves much more than military might—it has crucial social, political, and economic components that are of heightened relevance in today's world. The other European security organizations alongside NATO work to ensure that such security has a firm foundation through the strengthening of newly established democratic institutions in the new member states.

The dilemma is that, while "the other Europe" is drawn into the European security framework, security can never really be achieved without a change in the political cultures of new member states that have ruled their people through decades of antidemocratic ideology and institutions. In essence, the problem is to ensure that Western Europe reunites with "the other Europe" in terms of its democratic values and other institutions that promote a pervasive and formidable foundation for continental—and transatlantic—security.

While much of the literature on security focuses on its political and military dimensions, Klebes examines in this study the often neglected legal and normative foundations of security—the rule of law and parliamentary procedure as the bases for democratic security—and the Council of Europe's work in securing these foundations.

Heinrich Klebes is retired from a career as an international civil servant in European institutions. His last position was clerk of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly, having the rank of deputy secretary general. Currently, he is chairman of the governing board of the International Institute of Democracy in Strasbourg and a professor at Grenoble Law Faculty and the Strasbourg University Institute of European Studies. In 1995, Klebes was elected an honorary member of the Association of Secretaries General of Parliaments and received France's Order of Academic Merit.