Ihor Lossovskyi
PhD in Physics and Mathematics, First-Class Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary
DOI:
Abstract. The article deals with the fact that 2025 marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, which later became the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It was a landmark event in Europe’s political history and security. It established the rules and standards of conduct in all spheres of human activity and the states’ obligations to each other and within the framework of international organisations in the European region for decades.
Over the half-century of its existence, the OSCE has developed dozens of important political and legal documents on the prevention, warning, management, resolution, and settlement of armed, military, political, and security conflicts, including those caused by economic and environmental problems.
The article presents the argument that the new system needs to be guided by new norms and principles relevant to the current geopolitical context. In the dramatic situation on the frontlines of the russian-Ukrainian war, as well as in the whole world, it is extremely important to continue attempts to form a new equitable world order, as the old one, formed in Helsinki 50 years ago, is in immediate need of reform.
The study underscores how perhaps the only reliable way to ensure the security of states is to develop their own nuclear weapons or to stay under the ‘nuclear umbrella’ of reliable allies. More and more countries are now considering this. The situation around Ukraine is becoming a vivid example of the unreliable nature of reliance on the ‘guarantees’ of nuclear powers. The author emphasises that the efforts of democratic countries, which value peace in the world and the international legal order based on clear-cut rules and regulations, must be continued.
Keywords: Helsinki system, nuclear system, international legal order, European continent.
Download Article (ukr)
References