{"id":8295,"date":"2025-08-14T15:22:25","date_gmt":"2025-08-14T20:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/?p=8295"},"modified":"2025-08-14T15:22:28","modified_gmt":"2025-08-14T20:22:28","slug":"rethinking-security-what-the-osces-decline-teaches-u-s-peace-advocates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/rethinking-security-what-the-osces-decline-teaches-u-s-peace-advocates\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking Security: What the OSCE\u2019s Decline Teaches U.S. Peace Advocates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"\"><strong>\u201cA secure world cannot be built on fear, deterrence, or domination. It must be built on cooperation, dignity, and justice.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Fifty years ago, the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.osce.org\/helsinki-final-act\" title=\"\">Helsinki Final Act<\/a><\/em> marked a bold turning point in international diplomacy. Signed in 1975 by 35 nations\u2014including the U.S. and the Soviet Union\u2014it was a promise that peace could be pursued through dialogue, not domination. What began as the <em><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Conference_on_Security_and_Co-operation_in_Europe\" title=\"\">Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE)<\/a><\/em> would evolve into the <em>Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)<\/em>, an institution designed to uphold human rights, prevent conflict, and heal the divisions of a post-war world.`<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"What is the OSCE?\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KRYMwpQ44X0?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">But today, as highlighted in the <strong>Security and Human Rights Monitor\u2019s new publication<\/strong> <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gcsp.ch\/publications\/final-act-legacy-and-future-helsinki-principles-and-osce-50\" title=\"\">The Final Act? The Legacy and Future of the Helsinki Principles and the OSCE at 50<\/a><\/em>, that promise is unraveling. The OSCE finds itself weakened\u2014undermined by militarization, nationalist agendas, and especially, the war in Ukraine. Cooperative security, once the foundation of Europe\u2019s peace architecture, is being eroded by the very forces the Helsinki framework was built to overcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">At the Peace Economy Project, we see this moment not as an obituary for peace, but as a wake-up call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The U.S. Role in the Collapse of Cooperative Security<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The United States played a key role in shaping the Helsinki process\u2014and now plays a key role in its undoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">While Russia\u2019s aggression in Ukraine is rightly condemned, we must also confront how decades of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/russia-ukraine-business-world-war-ii-sweden-finland-240d97572cc783b2c7ff6e7122dd72d2\" title=\"\">NATO expansion<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/a-nation-on-the-brink-military-spending-vs-real-security\/\" title=\"\">ballooning U.S. military budgets<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sipri.org\/media\/press-release\/2025\/ukraine-worlds-biggest-arms-importer-united-states-dominance-global-arms-exports-grows-russian#:~:text=Arms%20exports%20by%20the%20USA,107%20states%20in%202020%E2%80%9324.\" title=\"\">growing arms exports<\/a><\/strong> have contributed to an international climate of fear and escalation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Rather than investing in diplomacy, development, and disarmament, the U.S. continues to pour billions into weapons systems and war. The result? A world where peace frameworks like the OSCE are hollowed out\u2014starved of support, overshadowed by militarized \u201csolutions,\u201d and treated as symbolic rather than essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Peace Economy Alternative<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The OSCE\u2019s \u201cbaskets\u201d (security, economic cooperation, and human rights) mirror the very pillars of a <em>peace economy<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">They recognize that true security comes not from weapons, but from:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\">Transparent governance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Human dignity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Economic fairness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\">Respect for national sovereignty and self-determination<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Now more than ever, U.S. peace advocates must speak up\u2014not just to decry war, but to <strong>reclaim the vision<\/strong> that Helsinki offered: a world where diplomacy leads, not lags behind conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What We\u2019re Calling For<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">At Peace Economy Project, we urge the public, policymakers, and fellow civil society organizations to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Reinvest in diplomacy.<\/strong> Demand funding for peacebuilding institutions\u2014both international (like the OSCE) and domestic.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Divest from militarism.<\/strong> Call for reduced Pentagon budgets and redirection of resources to healthcare, housing, education, and climate resilience.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Educate your community.<\/strong> Use this anniversary to teach about the history of the Helsinki Final Act and why it still matters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"\"><strong>Support global cooperation.<\/strong> Join coalitions that push for renewed international agreements on arms control, cybersecurity, and human rights.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Final Act, or a New Beginning?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">The OSCE\u2019s 50th anniversary should not be a eulogy. It should be a rallying cry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">We can still honor the legacy of the Helsinki Final Act by advancing a new peace agenda\u2014one that prioritizes <strong>people over profit<\/strong>, <strong>diplomacy over destruction<\/strong>, and <strong>justice over geopolitics<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\">Let\u2019s write the next chapter together. A peace economy isn\u2019t just possible\u2014it\u2019s necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><em>Learn more about our work at <\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.peaceeconomyproject.org\"><em>www.peaceeconomyproject.org<\/em><\/a><em> and join our upcoming webinar: \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/us02web.zoom.us\/j\/86099190170?pwd=brpAVfvkFnQBQSzMQERmto5XdKQaFe.1\" title=\"\">End Illegal Troop Deployments in Our Communities<\/a>\u201d on September 10, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cA secure world cannot be built on fear, deterrence, or domination. It must be built on cooperation, dignity, and justice.\u201d Fifty years ago, the Helsinki Final Act marked a bold turning point in international diplomacy. Signed in 1975 by 35 nations\u2014including the U.S. and the Soviet Union\u2014it was a promise that peace could be pursued [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8299,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[456,455,457,454,458],"class_list":["post-8295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-dialogue","tag-europe","tag-joint-action","tag-osce","tag-security"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/marija-zaric-aAGGgLLI8pc-unsplash-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8304,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8295\/revisions\/8304"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8299"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peaceeconomyproject.org\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}