Europe is politically stable but is growing unstable in the military sphere. This book argues that the rift between political and military stability is due to the imposition of superpower rivalry on Europe and the militarization of political thinking. The groundwork for this analysis is an examination of the threats to European security as perceived by France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Hungary, Poland, Sweden, and Yugoslavia. The dominant threat appears to
be that of inadvertent war.

This book recommends a Europeanization of international affairs in the region to build confidence and security. This would include less provocative force postures and overall arms reductions, reduced reliance on nuclear weapons, greater robustness in relation to Third World conflicts, and expanded East-West cooperation in economic and other fields. The book emphasizes the importance of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) and suggests priority tasks for the Conference on
Disarmament in Europe (CDE).