Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe (OSCE)

Pan-European security organization dedicated to conflict prevention, crisis management, and postconflict rehabilitation in Europe. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the largest regional security grouping in the world, with 55 member states from Europe, Central Asia, and North America.

The OSCE approaches security with broad definitions and includes issues such as human rights and economic cooperation as key components in the promotion of peace and stability. Although it conducts peacekeeping and conflict-resolution operations, it does not employ force to accomplish its objectives. The OSCE is based on a concept of consensus-based decisions whereby all member states have equal status. Because the organization has no legal standing under international law, these decisions are politically but not legally binding.

The Soviet Union floated the idea of a pan-European security organization in the 1950s, but Soviet attempts to exclude North American countries—and later Soviet aggression in central Europe—derailed those early plans. The idea was revived during the early 1970s, and in 1973, countries from Europe and North America—including the United States—formed the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE). This organization served as a predecessor to today's OSCE.

The collapse of communism at the end of the 1980s caused a rethinking of the role of the CSCE. Absent the threat of a Soviet invasion of Western Europe, the CSCE sought a new mandate. In November 1990, this mandate was expressed in the Charter of Paris for a New Europe. Under the charter, CSCE members agreed to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms such as freedom of thought, freedom of conscience, freedom of religion or belief, freedom of expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly, and freedom of movement. The CSCE officially became the OSCE in January 1995. Since that time, the OSCE, once seen as merely setting standards to promote its broad concept of security, has moved toward a robust presence in the field. It has launched more than 20 peacekeeping and security missions [Page 559]throughout the former Soviet Union and the former Yugoslav republics.

With operations winding down in parts of the Balkans, more OSCE resources have been transferred to the Caucasus and Central Asia, which are seen as breeding spots for terrorism. Still, some security analysts believe that major international powers continue to underutilize the potential of the OSCE, to the detriment of making inroads on the root causes of terrorism and organized crime. These issues received renewed emphasis following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as OSCE officials reaffirmed the organization's comprehensive security approach, designed to tackle the underlying causes of terrorism and not just the results.