ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book outlines areas of Europe are balanced on a knife-edge of instability. After surveying the various chapters in the book, it becomes clear that to try and generalise about security in Europe is fraught with difficulties. This reflects, to a large extent, the enormous diversity of the continent and the problem of defining the boundaries of particular regions. In some cases, such as the territories of the former Soviet Union, the regions have changed beyond all recognition since the end of the Cold War, while in others, as Gow has shown in the, diversity has outweighed the similarities between neighbouring states. Some states within the Nordic region, such as Sweden, may be moving towards a concept of collective security while their neighbours, the Baltic states, fear aggression from Russia and therefore aspire to the collective defence guarantees of NATO membership.
