Europe’s Changing Security Architecture

Europe’s contemporary security architecture owes its origins to the collapse of Cold War bipolarity in the annus mirabilis of 1989. Twenty-five years on, this post-Cold War security architecture is now exhibiting some serious structural weaknesses, as new risks and challenges emerge – both from within Europe and from without. Constructed around the twin pillars of the Euro-Atlantic community – NATO and the European Union – Europe’s security architecture is under pressure from a number of underlying secular trends that are transforming the international political system : the US “tilt” towards Asia ; the unresolved question of Russia’s relationship to its European neighbourhood ; the continuing upheaval and instability in the “arc of crisis” to Europe’s south and east ; and the shifting global balance of power, epitomised by the rise of China and its fellow “BRICs”. These developments are generating growing concerns that Europe’s security architecture has been irreparably weakened, and is no longer fit for purpose. This chapter addresses the contemporary debate on Europe’s security architecture, and reflects upon its likely evolution. It begins by defining the concept of “security architecture” and explaining how and why a regional security architecture is important. It then identifies the central pillars and constituent elements of Europe’s security architecture, and considers the primary challenges it faces in the early twenty-first century. Finally, it outlines a number of options for Europe’s security architecture and assesses their strengths and weaknesses.