Multiple Security Options For Central And Eastern European Countries: NATO, EU And Subregional Security Mechanisms

In the aftermath of the Cold War,the Central and Eastern European countries(CEECs)joined NATO and completed a "back to Europe" process.Before long,after CEECs' accession to the European Union and investments on the Common Security and Defence Policy(CSDP),they became dual-security-institutional participators.Recently,the CEECs payed more importance to the sub-regional security instructional construction with the purpose of binding the regional security interest into the Union.The research question of the essay is that why the CEECs preferred a multiple security choices instead of a single security umbrella regarding NATO's overwhelming superiority in Europe's security structure.European security studies have long been the traditional big-power-led security studies.As the countries in the midst of the buffer zone between the Europe and Russia,the CEECs' strategic logic on the investment,choice and behavior in the new European security structure are absolutely understudied.Therefore,there has not been adequate study to illustrate the multiple security choice of the CEECs.Based on the national security choice model proposed in the essay,the research is aimed to provide a concrete explanation on the selection logic,participation decision,interaction mode and evaluation index of the national behavioral entity in the security intuitions on the European continent.The research focuses on CEECs'subjective perception towards the external security environment and studies on the relationality between the subjective context-awareness and the security choice based on the review of vital historical nodes and significant affairs.The research asserts that no single security institution could meet the needs of the CEECs that is why the CEECs decide to participate in the NATO and EU and devote the regional resources to the sub-regional security institution construction in order to improve the regional security environment.According to the evaluation index of security choice illustrated in the essay,NATO could satisfy the CEECs in the field of national security protection and defence policy modernization,while EU could establish a fair defence market platform for defence capability modernization to live up to CEECs' expectation.Due to the security governance vacuum at some special occasions,with the security institutional development trends of sub-regionalization,the CEECs attach more importance to the homeland defence capabilities through the construction of the sub-regional security institution.By the research methods of document analysis,comparative analysis and case study,the essay analyses the official treaties,documents of the NATO,EU and the CEECs' governments along with the professional research reports issued by the famous think tanks and institutes for a clear understanding on the CEECs' security policy positions and behavior logic.The research makes a comparison between the NATO and EU in the fields of national defence policy reform,defence market,weapons R&D,etc.in order to find out which institution better suits the CEECs'interest in the specific field.The research also analyses the case of the sub-regional security institution development in terms of development background,construction progress,transitional function,support for the main security institutions,etc.The research has both theoretical and practical significance.From the perspectives of security choice,the research combs the CEECs' security choice in different historical periods and summarizes the strategic logic behind the selecting behaviors which raises up a certain reference meaning for the research on the development of security institutions and the middle-and-small national behavioral entities' strategy in the security institutions.On one hand,the research contributes to the middle-and-small national behavioral entities' interest demand so as to furnish ideas for a more unified institutional design;on the other hand,the research offers thoughts for security governance functional labor-division in order to solve the efficiency and competence problems caused by institutional overlapping.The research reviews the important information on the CEECs' national defence policy,defence strategy,armed forces and so on,building up a overall understanding and evaluation on the CEECs' security choices,investments and considerations.Besides,based on the sub-regional security institution,the research keeps a watchful eye on NATO's deployment in the CEE region,calculating the supportive contributions offered by the CEECs and analyzing the development and challenges of the CEE sub-regional security institution.The cases of CEECs' national security affairs,CEE sub-regional security institution construction,CEECs' defence cooperation,etc.within the research provide detailed and accurate data and materials for the relevant research in the security field.