Central European Security: The Problem of Reassurance

Central European Security: The Problem of Reassurance

You can now read short roundtable report here.

• Jan Ruzicka, Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University
• Jiří Schneider, Prague Security Studies Institute
• Michal Kořan, Institute of International Relations Prague

Security environment in Central and Eastern Europe has changed. Few would challenge this statement and many agree on the changing threat perception, though there is hardly agreement on how to deal with the new situation. One of the persistent themes in the public debates in Central and Eastern Europe has been the question of trust and reassurance when it comes to the provision of security. Perhaps understandably, recent events in Eastern Europe and particularly in Ukraine have revived concerns whether the countries in Central Europe can trust security guarantees offered by their membership in the NATO alliance. What kinds of actions would address such feelings of insecurity? NATO has tried to provide various forms of reassurance to its Central and Eastern European member states. These have ranged from military exercises and convoy rides to political visits and meetings. Just the week of the event, Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, was visiting in the region.

• Has this been sufficient to provide reassurance?
• Does it make sense to look for answers to the current security issues outside rather than inside the region?
• What have Central Europeans done for themselves?

The roundtable discussed current security context of Central Europe with a view to the crucial problem of reassurance. The speakers analysed the sources of insecurity and efforts to deal with them.

Jan Ruzicka is Lecturer in Security Studies in the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University. He is currently a fellow of the International Visegrad Fund in its Think Visegrad program. He has published widely on the problems of trust, security, and nuclear weapons in international politics. He leads the project ‘Alliances and Trust-building in International Politics’ supported by the British Academy.

Jiří Schneider is Senior Fellow and Director of Special Projects at Prague Security Studies Institute. He served in various senior positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, most recently as First Deputy Minister. His research focuses on international security, including its Central European dimension.

Michal Kořan is Deputy Director of the Institute of International Relations Prague. He has written extensively on Czech Republic’s foreign policy as well as the other countries of the Visegrad Four.

The event is supported by the International Visegrad Fund.