Read the summary and the most important questions on managing conflict in post-cold war Eurasia: the role of the OSCE in Europe's Security 'Architecture'

• 1 introduction

• When was the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) founded?

  In 1975 by the Helsinki Final Act and was known as the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe until 1995

• What are three substantive areas of activity of the OSCE in the Helsinki Final Act?

  - confidence-building measures in the realm of military policy
  - cooperation in economic, scientific and technical spheres
  - cooperation in activities involving the human dimension of security, including individual human rights and the rights of persons belonging to minorities groups

• The OSCE is unique because it formally links three dimensions of security, which ones?

  - military security
  - economic well-being
  - humanitarian principles

• Why is it often referred to as a soft-security institution?

  - it is based on a political agreement rather than a formal treaty and it does not have military forces at its immediate disposal

• Why does the OSCE heavily depend upon obtaining political consensus and operates it largely with the consent of those states on whose territory it carries out its field activities?

  The bonds of the participating states are based solely on a series of politically binding agreements rather than legal treaties

• 2 the conflict management functions of the OSCE since 1992

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• 2.1 long-term conflict prevention

• Why is democratization an extremely difficult and long-term task?

  It is inherently fragile in all transitional societies, and immediate measures of conflict prevention and resolution will frequently be required to avoid outbreak of violence which might set democratization process even further back

• 2.2 prevention of violent outcomes in potential conflict situations

• What is the most notable role of the OSCE at reaching a resolution of potentially violent conflicts?

  Mediating between nationalistic ethnic Russian politicians in Crimea and the central government of Ukraine

• 2.3 cease-fire mediation

• The OSCE cannot do that much when conflict has broken out. In what conflict was it clear that the OSCE-mediating role has potential?

  Chechnya in 1995-1996

• 2.4 conflict resolution after a cease-fire

• What has been a major focus for the OSCE mission, considering that it was founded after the Cold War?

  The effort to broker long-term resolutions of the conflicts that had produced the previous chain of violence. And to prevent the renewal of violence in situations where tensions remain

• What does the OSCE usually do after a cease-fire?

  Monitoring the performance of peacekeeping forces