CONFIDENCE- & SECURITY-BUILDING MEASURES
THE
ARCTIC: THE ORGANIZATION
FOR
IN
SECURITY &
CO-OPERATION IN EUROPE AS A ROLE MODEL FOR THE
AREA?
Benjamin Schaller
Confidence- and Security-Building Measures (CSBMs) had a major contribution to the lowering of military tensions and the
reduction of false threat perceptions in Europe at the end of the Cold War. Embedded in the theoretical framework of the
Bargaining Theory, this article claims to understand the role of CSBMs as an early structural tool of conflict prevention. Based
on this theoretical understanding, this article focuses on practical implications and lessons learned from existing CSBM regimes in
the OSCE framework and provides suggestions for a possible extension of these regimes to the Arctic Region. As the co-operation
among all Arctic states is strong, this article further argues that the implementation of military information exchanges as well as
measures of verification should not be seen as to counter any form of emerging military tensions, but rather as a means to further
manifest the good bi- and multilateral relations in the area and in order to serve as a role model for other geographical regions and
the discussion on future reforms of arms control.
Introduction
The exchange of military information, measures of their verification and additional forms of military
co-operation form the core of military Confidence- and Security-Building Measures (CSBMs), which
aim to prevent interstate conflicts by increasing openness and transparency in the field of military
capabilities. Having their origin in the middle of the Cold War, a phase of military standoff between
Warsaw Pact and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), CSBMs have made a major
Benjamin Schaller is a recent Master Graduate from the Department for Peace & Conflict Research at
Uppsala University in Sweden. This article is based on the author’s Master thesis ‘Confidence- and SecurityBuilding Measures as a Tool of Conflict Prevention – The OSCE as a Role Model for the Arctic Region?’ at
the Department for Peace & Conflict Research (DPCR) at Uppsala University.