The Enlargement of Europe

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This book examines the debates surrounding the expansion of the five main European institutions since the end of the Cold War. These institutions, all founded during the Cold War--the European Union, NATO, the Western European Union, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe--have had to adjust to the dramatic changes that have accompanied the collapse of Communism. The extent and speed with which the process of enlargement takes place will be the most important factor in determining how the continent develops. Focusing on three main questions, the contributors ask: Is there an accepted unitary vision as to how Europe should develop and is this vision guiding the process of enlargement, or are there competing visions between the different institutions that are resulting in a fragmentary approach? To what extent have there been separate motives for enlargement within each institution? Have these debates and policies been related to any overall framework? And has there been a deliberate policy by Western governments to indulge in "cost free" expansion, enlarging political areas first and leaving more difficult issues of security and economics to a later stage?