Forty-five Years of Dialogue Facilitation (1972–2017): Ten Lessons from the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe

Abstract

The aim of this article is to investigate how the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (csce) succeeded in channelling the Cold War in a peaceful direction by facilitating a Pan-European dialogue during the second half of the Cold War (1972–1990), and what lessons we can learn from it today in terms of dialogue facilitation, so as to raise the profile of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and reduce international tensions. It is based on the hypothesis that the csce facilitated the ‘multilateralisation of European security’ through dialogue, and stabilised European relations by turning security into a joint venture. This article concludes with ten recommendations for facilitating dialogue through the osce so as to multilateralise European security again today