Why the OSCE endures: the Helsinki Final Act at 50 in illiberal central Asia.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is widely criticized for its inability to fulfil its liberal reform agenda, and many view it as a defunct institution amid the broader crisis of the liberal international order. With the Helsinki Final Act having turned 50 in August 202...
| Publicado en: | International Affairs Vol. 102; no. 2; pp. 659 - 677 |
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| Autores principales: | , , |
| Formato: | Artículo |
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Oxford University Press / USA
Mar2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=192225175&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 192225175 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00205850 INA jtl: International Affairs issn: 00205850 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Mar2026 vid: 102 iid: 2 pid: 622 pub: Oxford University Press / USA artinfo: ui: 192225175 10.1093/ia/iiaf267 ppf: 659 ppct: 18 formats: tig: atl: Why the OSCE endures: the Helsinki Final Act at 50 in illiberal central Asia. aug: au: Fazendeiro, Bernardo Teles Freire, Maria Raquel Nascimento, Daniela affil: University of Coimbra, 3004-512 Coimbra, Portugal su: Asia Eurasia Russia Organization for Security & Co-operation in Europe Sovereignty Authoritarianism Human rights Treaties International security International organization sug: subj: Sovereignty Authoritarianism Human rights Treaties International security Asia Eurasia Russia Organization for Security & Co-operation in Europe International organization keyword: central Asia copyrightHolder:The Royal Institute of International Affairs copyrightYear:2026 inLanguage:en international institutions International Relations theory liberalism OSCE publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiaf267 sovereignty central Asia copyrightHolder:The Royal Institute of International Affairs copyrightYear:2026 inLanguage:en international institutions International Relations theory liberalism OSCE publisher:Oxford University Press sameAs:https://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ia/iiaf267 sovereignty ab: The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is widely criticized for its inability to fulfil its liberal reform agenda, and many view it as a defunct institution amid the broader crisis of the liberal international order. With the Helsinki Final Act having turned 50 in August 2025, this article asks why the OSCE persists despite its apparent failures and the criticism from its illiberal members. It argues that the organization endures not because of its liberal achievements and purposes, but because of its dual nature as an enterprise association and as a civil association grounded in sovereign equality. While the OSCE has struggled to promote democracy and human rights, particularly in the face of contestation by Russia and rising illiberalism across Eurasia, it continues to be a platform for principled internationalism. This article shows how states in central Asia have curtailed the organization's liberal agenda while remaining members in order to retain an equal voice in multilateral dialogue and to adapt its reformist agenda to their benefit. The OSCE's persistence, therefore, reflects not institutional failure but the enduring appeal of a civil association based on sovereign equality—a principle that tenuously binds its diverse members, even amid deep political division across Eurasia. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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