Security in Northern Europe after the Cold War

• Main Author: Besserudhagen, Svein A.
• Other Authors: AIR WAR COLL MAXWELL AFB AL
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1995
• Subjects: Military Forces and Organizations; Defense Systems; *NATO; *SECURITY; *INSTABILITY; USSR; EUROPE; THREATS; COLD WAR; RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS; RUSSIA; ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; COOPERATION; CRIMES; REFUGEES; NATO EXPANSION; Kola Peninsula; kola peninsula
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA328339; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA328339

The end of the Cold War came with dramatic changes in Europe. NATO is searching for its future in a Europe threatened by instability and break down of government control and law and order in Russia. Security in Northern Europe is strongly influenced by the events in Europe as a whole. However, the region is not in focus as the discussions of NATO's future and other questions of Europe's security issues are conducted in the capitals of the major European powers and in Washington. Northern Europe is bordering directly on Russia and may be adversely and directly affected by a reasserted Russia or a Russia falling apart from within. There are large conventional military forces remaining in the region capable of supporting Russian adventures if an extremist government should gain power. Russia's big power status rests on her nuclear weapons. The naval component of the nuclear forces on the Kola Peninsula has gained a proportionally greater significance to Russia than during the Cold War.