The Cultural Basis of European Security: Analysis and Implication for Ukraine

Abstract

Many of the challenges facing European security and prosperity stem from the fact that the unique historical and cultural models of the Anglo-Saxon world have become the mainstream paradigms by which other nations measure their own success. As other cultural traditions deemed inferior to the “mainstream” strive for recognition, it can produce deep social tensions. Many advocates of modernization recognize this, but nevertheless see it as the price that backwards nations must pay to join the global economic and political mainstream, and thereby achieve security. Others, however, are not so sure. One alternative school of thought, known as the Copenhagen School, takes a radically different approach to security that focuses on issues of cultural identity.

Keywords: Cultural security, Copenhagen School, Ukraine, Eurasia