East-Central Europe After the Cold War

by Cottey, Andrew

• ISBN13: 9780312127015
• ISBN10: 0312127014
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-10-01
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Since 1989 the countries of East-Central Europe, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, have radically transformed their national security policies. East-Central Europe after the Cold War provides a detailed analysis of this transformation, highlighting the strategic choices made by the East-Central European states since the collapse of communism.
The book begins by exploring the new European security environment and the security policy options open to the East-Central European states. It then examines how Poland, Czechoslovakia (and after its demise the Czech Republic and Slovakia) and Hungary responded to the dilemmas posed by the collapse of the Soviet bloc, German unification, the restructuring of their relations with the West, the unstable situation on their eastern and southern borders and the need fundamentally to reform their armed forces. The concluding chapters examine the East-Central European states' relations with the European Union and NATO and assess the prospects for continued stability in the region.

Table of Contents

List of Tables and Maps
Preface
Introduction	p. 1
The New Europe	p. 4
German Unification	p. 4
The Western Security Community	p. 6
Instability in the East	p. 7
New Security 'Architecture'	p. 9
Conclusion: Implications for East-Central Europe	p. 11
Strategic Options for East-Central Europe	p. 13
A Reformed Soviet Alliance	p. 13
Neutrality	p. 15
Regional Security Cooperation	p. 17
Integration with the West	p. 19
Pan-European Security	p. 21
Balance of Power Realpolitik	p. 23
National Defence	p. 24
Poland	p. 27
The 'Round-Table' and the Reform of the Soviet Alliance	p. 28
German Unification	p. 30
Dismantling the Soviet Alliance	p. 33
Poland's Shift towards the West	p. 36
A Polish-German Special Relationship	p. 40
A New Eastern Policy	p. 42
Defence Policy	p. 52
Czechoslovakia and After	p. 60
Dismantling the Soviet Alliance	p. 61
German Unification	p. 64
Security Policy: From CSCE to NATO	p. 65
Relations with the New Germany	p. 70
Relations with the Post-Soviet States	p. 72
Defence Policy	p. 73
Czechoslovakia's Demise	p. 78
The Czech Republic	p. 81
Slovakia	p. 85
Hungary	p. 93
Reform under the MSMP	p. 94
Transformation under the MDF	p. 95
Consolidation under the MSP?	p. 101
'Eastern' Policy	p. 102
Defence Policy	p. 119
East-Central Europe and the New European Security Order	p. 126
The Visegrad Group	p. 126
Relations with the European Union	p. 136
Relations with NATO	p. 141
The CSCE: The Limits of Pan-European Security	p. 148
Conclusion	p. 155
'Return to Europe'	p. 155
Wider Security Policies	p. 157
Prospects for Stability?	p. 158
Notes and References	p. 162
Index	p. 204
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.