Neutral Beyond the Cold: Neutral States and the Post-Cold War International System

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the wars in Yugoslavia changed the security environment in Europe and Central Asia, but some traditional Cold War neutrals have remained committed to their nonaligned foreign policy approaches. This book explores the "new neutralism" of the Post-Cold War, analyzing contemporary neutrality discourse and policy developments in Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Serbia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Mongolia.

Format: Hardback
Length: 326 pages
Publication date: 15 July 2022
Publisher: Lexington Books

The collapse of the Soviet Union and the wars in Yugoslavia had a profound impact on the security environment in Europe and Central Asia. While some predictions suggested that the emerging unipolarity of the liberal world order would lead to the end of neutrality policies in East and West, this was not the case. Some traditional Cold War neutrals, such as Sweden and Finland, have moved closer to security alignment with Western institutions, while others, such as Austria, Switzerland, Ireland, and Malta, have remained committed to their traditional nonaligned foreign policy approaches. Additionally, there are areas of Eurasia that have developed new forms of neutrality policies, which have received limited attention in academic discourse. This book is the first to systematically explore this "new neutralism" of the Post-Cold War era. Part one analyzes contemporary neutrality discourse on various levels, including international organizations (UN, ASEAN), diplomacy, and academic theory. Part two discusses neutrality-related policy developments in Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Georgia, Serbia, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Mongolia. Together, the 15 chapters demonstrate that references to neutrality remain a significant aspect of international politics on this vast, connected landmass.

Weight: 603g
Dimension: 227 x 160 x 25 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781666901665