1990/91 marked the end of the division of Europe and the onset of a new era of radical political and social change. The special summit of the Conference for Cooperation and Security in Europe in Paris in November 1990 and the Charter for a New Europe raised hopes and expectations not only among heads of state or governments but especially among civil societies regarding an era of cooperative security in Europe and dialogue between societies in East and West. Yet, many of these great ideas were ultimately doomed to failure and the vision of a truly common European peace architecture has not materialised.

In the context of the thematic year #30PostSovietYears, ZOiS in co-operation with FES Regional Office for Cooperation and Peace in Europe will take a critical look back to shed light on the diverging perspectives held at the time. How compatible were the ideas and expectations on the level of state politics with those at the level of civil movements? What were the limitations of the new vision? And finally: What are the prospects for cooperative security in Europe today?

The event will be dedicated to the historical dimension, recalling the implications of the Paris Charter and the constituent assembly of the Helsinki groups and committees in Prague in October 1990. Human rights and civil society activists at the time were ready to enter into a dialogue with high-level politics on important topics like transnational peace, disarmament, respect for human rights and inter-societal relations. Yet, with regard to many of these issues we are back almost at square one today.

Participants

• Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee
• Prof. Dr. Rafael Biermann, political scientist from the University of Jena
• Dmitri Makarov, co-chair of the Moscow Helsinki Group
• Moderation: Dr. Nadja Douglas (ZOiS)

The event is organised in cooperation with FES Regional Office for Cooperation and Peace in Europe (FES ROCPE) in Vienna .

Anja Krüger
Communications Coordinator
events@zois-berlin.de