Is a New Cold War Inevitable? Central European Views on Rebuilding Trust in the Euro-Atlantic Region - Kulesa, Łukasz (Polski Instytut Spraw Międzynarodowych, 2014)
The origins of the current crisis in relations between Russia and the West run much deeper than just a mere deficit of trust or inadequate communication channels, reiterate the authors of a new PISM Report.In their publication Is a New Cold War Inevitable? Central European Views on Rebuilding Trust in the Euro-Atlantic Region they examine the root causes of the problem.One of the main conclusions of the report is that mutual mistrust itself is not a product of misunderstanding of the motives guiding the other side, but rather it reflects some fundamental differences in values and interests. Only by enhancing our understanding of the roots of the current crisis and by making a realistic assessment of the chances for and terms of future rapprochement can we hope to develop new policy proposals for strengthening Euro-Atlantic security.Experts from Poland, the Czech Republic and Latvia offer a number of observations and suggestions to be taken into account by European decision-makers, especially at a time when the West and Russia are entering a phase of hostility and the threat of a major conflict can no longer be ignored. The authors seem to agree that efforts are needed to prevent a further disintegration of the European security system, highlighting the crucial role that could be played by the undervalued OSCE as well as the need for preserving the European system of conventional arms control