ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the concept of neutrality in European security systems. It discusses whether neutrality, defined as non-membership in military alliances and non-participation in wars, has a future in a European security system. The chapter looks at small states' past experiences with their attempts to be allied or remain neutral, and explores the incentives for states to come to each other's defense. Does a formal alliance provide more security than a non-allied status in the post cold war era? The North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) transformation is marked by a bifurcation, in which the collective defense now coexists with the more important concept of crisis management. European security system has moved far beyond the structures of the cold war to a bifurcation within NATO, European Union and the Western European Union, between collective defense and crisis management.
