Cooperative Security, the OSCE, and its Code of Conduct

The Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security, adopted by OSCE member states during the Budapest Summit of December 1994, has become a significant addition to the range of politically binding documents of the OSCE. The Code, besides referring to internationally legally binding provisions for the conduct of politico-military affairs, codifies some of the existing norms on the democratic control and use of armed forces for interstate and intrastate purposes. It also lays down guidelines for the personal responsibility and accountability of the individual members of these armed forces. Moreover, this latest product of OSCE norm setting aims at becoming a valuable and effective instrument for the prevention of armed conflict. The significance, validity, and virtues of the Code are critically examined in this work. It is based on a seminar which was sponsored by the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Germany and the Netherlands, and organized by the Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael, in cooperation with the German Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik. The book introduces the Code as a whole and deals with experiences from the negotiating table. It links the Code with international law and evaluates the Code on its early warning and conflict prevention merits. The work also investigates the connections between the Code and civil-military relations in the cases of Poland, the Russian Federation, and Germany and charts the way ahead for implementation of the Code. Finally, the Editor summarizes the main conclusions and highlights of the debate.