Development of a common foreign and security policy : the impact of the Balkan crises

Abstract

The end of the Second World War brought about the realisation that in order to secure and stabilise the European continent, states within the continent had to engage in close cooperation in issues that shared common interest. The United States emerged from the Second World War, as the undisputed and strongest military and economic power together with the USSR, which led to the creation of the Cold War. The end of the Cold War brought about a radical change in the security framework in Europe. Europe underwent the most violent conflict on its soil. The Yugoslav conflict revealed that the end of the Cold War signified the beginning of real wars at a time when collective security in Europe simply did not exist. The conflict in Yugoslavia was being fought on the borders of the European Union, the actors that posed a threat to the stability of the region where a direct result of the break down of the communist block. The changes that have taken place following the end of the cold war and the dissolution of former Yugoslavia have greatly modified the substance and form of the region and the continent as a whole. The Yugoslav conflict has led to the realization of a security vacuum within the European sphere, and as a result led European countries to redefine their policy on the region, because of the consequences for their own security and defence policies.