Common security

The concept of common security is seen as a genuinely (natural) European further development of the concept of collective security .

The term comes from the title of the Palme report "Common Security: A Blueprint for Survival", the conclusion of the Independent Commission for Disarmament and Security (" Palme Commission ", 1980–1982), which was chaired by Sweden's Prime Minister Olof Palme .

The main keywords on which the term is based are interdependence , shared responsibility and “security with” instead of “security against”. As a result, unilateral deterrence policies are rejected, as is alliances that guarantee security. Emphasis is placed on non-provocative and non-offensive defense structures and collective security . The core principles of mutual security were in the " Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe introduced" (CSCE) and later in the " Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe " (OSCE) implemented .

Binding rules, review structures and sanctions in the event of non-compliance with the security collective ensure that the members of the system have to accept certain losses in state sovereignty that go beyond those in the system of collective security (e.g. the UN ).

That may be one reason why this European concept was unsuccessful in Asia , for example . Another is the strong normative foundation of common security - for example the express formulation of Western norms in the area of human rights . An initiative by Australia to import the concept of common security into the Asia-Pacific region failed .

Common security can be seen as a countermovement to the national security approach , which is heavily influenced by the realistic school ( political realism ) of international politics. Both the concept of collective security and common security reflect more principles and basic assumptions of liberalism .

literature

Hoadley, Stephen (2006): The Evolution of Security Thinking: An Overview. In: Hoadley, Stephen; Rüland, Jürgen (Eds.): Asian Security Reassessed. Pasir Panjang, Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS). - This text offers a good overview of various security concepts that are classified on a continuum between political realism and liberalism.