ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the evolution of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) since the end of the Cold War, and since the break up of Yugoslavia, and discusses how developments might have changed the lessons that should be drawn from the European experience by the states of Asia-Pacific. It explores both the successes and failures of the CSCE and attempt to relate these to moves in the Asia-Pacific towards establishing a cooperative regional security regime. The CSCE has been the main referent for those wishing to construct such regimes in other parts of the world. The CSCE first met in Helsinki in 1975 where it agreed to a grandiose Helsinki Final Act. The security basket proved to be the most creative and beneficial of the whole CSCE process, helping put into partial practice some of the notions of 'common security' that had been emerging from the European peace movement and security studies institutes for several years.
