After the end of the Cold War, Russia and Western states and institutions spoke of a  “Europe, whole and free” or a “common European home”, committing themselves to the goal of a pan-European order of peace.

In joint documents such as the Paris Charta, both sides agreed on the principles of such an order, but interpreted their respective importance differently. Disappointment on both sides about the implementation and consequences of this order led to a gradual estrangement and Russia’s step-by-step withdrawal from the joint institutions, ultimately causing the failure of the project of a pan-European peace framework. The resulting tensions represent one of the biggest challenges for the current European security policy.

Mikhail Polianskii of the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (HSFK/PRIF) will reconstruct and analyse this process of dissociation and the level of tensions between the involved states.