IPI HomePublicationsPolicy Papers › Issue Brief: Reaching the OSCE Summit in Astana

 

print print  |  share share back back

Policy Papers - September 15, 2010

Issue Brief: Reaching the OSCE Summit in Astana

Walter Kemp

 

 

In December 2010, Kazakhstan will host fifty-six countries for the first summit of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) since 1999. This issue brief looks at what it will take to “reach the summit” at Astana; examines the main issues at stake; and considers the relevance and future direction of the OSCE.

The Astana summit is a major achievement for a country that was considered by some to be an inappropriate choice to lead the OSCE. Yet the summit is not a test of Kazakhstan’s leadership. It is about the future of Euro-Atlantic and Eurasian security, and the viability of the OSCE. At a time when the European Union, Russia, and the United States are redefining their relationships and looking for common ground, the Astana summit provides an opportunity to focus on issues that unite all stakeholders—finding a sense of common purpose to deal with common threats and challenges on the basis of common principles.

The Global Observatory

A Gulf Union? Not Yet
A union between Persian Gulf countries the along the lines of the European Union may be a long way from being achieved.

Key Global Events to Watch in May
A list of key upcoming meetings and events with implications for global affairs.

The Global Observatory is a new website by IPI, providing timely analysis on peace and security issues, interviews with leading policymakers, interactive maps, and more.

Contact Us

Adam Lupel | Publications
E-mail

Recent Events

May 10, 2012
Arbour: What the Rule of Law Means
“In my understanding of the rule of law, fundamentally, what the rule of law means is that it embraces the principle of equality before the law,” Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group (ICG), told an IPI audience on May 10, 2012. Ms. Arbour outlined that this means that no one is above the law and everyone has both equal protection and equal benefit of the law.

May 03, 2012
Shachtman: Cyber Threats Akin to South Bronx, Not Pearl Harbor
“There’s not a danger of a cyber Pearl Harbor… it’s more like the South Bronx circa 1999, where there’s a danger that it becomes such a tough neighborhood that no one wants to set up shop there and people move out,” Noah Shachtman, editor of the Danger Room blog at Wired magazine and non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, told an IPI audience at a panel on cyber security on May 3, 2011.

April 27, 2012
Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems
An April 27th roundtable discussion at IPI titled “Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems” examined the progress, prospects and challenges of regional and international early warning and response mechanisms to monitor, anticipate, and mitigate potential conflict situations in Africa.

View More