The Security Challenges for Japan and Europe in a Post Cold War World

In the dynamic political climate resulting from the end of the cold war and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the world has been experiencing a largely positive series of changes without any new situation of stability appearing imminent. Many of these developments have been taking place in and around Europe rather than in East Asia, but they are none the less of prime importance to Japan, with its global economic and political interests as well as its immediate regional security concerns.In this exciting political atmosphere, the International Institute for Global Peace in Tokyo and the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London have set about organizing a two-year research project which will address security issues on a global scale, and look at the common concerns of Western Europe and Japan in this context.This volume - the first of four edited by Professor Trevor Taylor, Head of the International Security Programme at the RIIA - represents the outcome of the project's initial discussions during June 1992. The focus here is on the former Soviet Union and the multi-dimensional consequences of its collapse for the security of its Eastern and Western neighbours.