Arms Control Arrangements under the Aegis of the OSCE: Is There a Better Way to Handle Compliance?
Source:
Connections: The Quarterly Journal,Keywords:
arms control, CFE, compliance, CSBMs, European Security, military exercises, Open Skies Treaty, verificationAbstract:
The CSCE-OSCE has strong legacy in conventional arms control both as far as limitations and reductions and constraints on military activities. Although the last two decades since 1999 did not add much to the arms control acquis and there was a “retreat” in arms control with the suspension of the CFE Treaty. It is Germany that keeps European conventional arms control on the agenda as part of security dialogue since the Harmel Report of 1967 and takes symbolic initiatives as a demonstration. Although compliance is not full and some activities demonstrate the intention to cheat, their level is more important as part of the communication of the main parties rather than of direct strategic significance.