The Member States of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (WTO) and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE): Current Preoccupations and Expectations
| Author | Karl E. Birnbaum |
| DOI | 10.1177/001083677400900104 |
| Date | 01 March 1974 |
| Published date | 01 March 1974 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
The
Member
States
of
the
Warsaw
Treaty
Organization
(WTO)
and
the
Conference
on
Security
and
Cooperation
in
Europe
(CSCE):
Current
Preoccupations
and
Expectations
KARL
E.
BIRNBAUM
The
Swedish
Institute
of
International
Affairs,
Stockholm
Birnbaum,
Karl
E.
The
Member
States
of
the
Warsaw
Treaty
Organization
(WTO)
and
the
Conference
on
Security
and
Cooperation
in
Europe
(CSCE):
Current
Preoc-
cupations
and
Expectations.
Cooperation
and
Conflict,
IX,
1974,
29-34.
This
article
(a
revised
version
of
a
paper
presented
at
an
IISS
conference
on
East-
West
relations)
is
an
interim
report
on
one
aspect
of
a
study
on
multilateral
East-West
negotiations.
The
author
attempts
to
assess
the
special
preoccupations
of
WTO
states
in
connection
with
CSCE
and
the
differences
between
the
Soviet
Union
and
Rumania
that
surfaced
in
the
course
of
the
multilateral
consultations
and
negotiations
during
1973.
He
concludes
that
the
impact
of
CSCE
on
intra-alliance
relations
in
the
East
is
likely
to
be
marginal
and
long-term
and
that
Soviet
attitudes
so
far
suggest
confidence
that
the
repercussions
will
remain
manageable.
Karl
E.
Birnbaum,
The
Swedish
Institute
of
International
Affairs,
Stockholm.
INTRODUCTION
This
paper
attempts
to
identify
and
analyse
some
of
the
current
preoccupations
and
expectations
of
the
member
states
of
the
Warsaw
Treaty
Organization
(WTO)
as
suggested
by
their
attitudes,
declarations
and
formal
positions
during
the
Helsinki
consultations
and
the
CSCE
itself.
To
the
extent
possible,
I
have
tried
to
base
my
presentation
and
arguments
on
explicit
pronouncements
of
the
respective
govern-
ments
and
their
representatives.
In
some
cases,
however,
the
conclusions
have
been
inferred
from
the
general
behaviour
of
participants
in
the multilateral
consulta-
tions
and
the
conference.
Several
inter-
views
with
delegates
to
the
conference
have
helped
me
to
a
better
understanding
of
the
issues
under
debate
and
the
positions
adopted.
The
paper
is
part
of
a
larger
study
and
therefore
meant
as
an
interim
report
only,
reflecting
the
situation
in
the
autumn
of
1973.
It
falls
into
four
sections.
In
the
first
I
have
tried
to
register
very
briefly
some
general
trends
characterizing
the
performance
of
all
or
most
states
taking
part
in
CSCE.
These
indicate
concerns
shared
by
both
East
and
West
where
goals
and
expectations
therefore
would
seem
largely
to
coincide.
In
the
second
section
I discuss
common
notions
of
the
WTO
states
relating
to
possible
outcomes
of
CSCE;
in
the
Third
I
have
attempted
to
assess
the
differences
between
the
Soviet
Union
and
Rumania
that
surfaced
both
at
Helsinki
and
in
Geneva.
In
the
fourth
sec-
tion,
finally,
I
present
tentative
conclusions
with
regard
to
the
conceivable
impact
of
CSCE
on
inter-alliance
relations in
the
East.
I
...
’
One
of
the
main
common
preoccupa-
tions
of
virtually
all
states
represented
at
the
CSCE,
Eastern,
Western
and
neutral
alike,
was
clearly
demonstrated
during
the
early
autumn
of
1973:
it
was
the
con-
curring
wish
of
the
participants
to
insulate
the
problems
of
security
and
cooperation
in
Europe
from
extra-European
distur-
bances,
to
protect
whatever
improvement
in
East-West
relations
that
had
been
achieved
against
the
negative
impact
of
international
perturbations
not
immedia-
tely
related
to
the
issues
on
the
agenda
of
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