Authors

Discussion

During the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union gradually recognized each other as co-equal great powers. When the Berlin Wall fell (1989), both sides agreed that they were "winners." However, when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the West forsook the "parity" principle, and inclusiveness within the European security structure was brought into question. The United States and its European allies became the single, prevailing force in Europe. This paper will examine the question: Why was Russia more or less excluded from the European security architecture after the Berlin Wall fell? Instead of embracing Russia by building European security architecture that Russia could join, the West gambled that Russia would accept the EU and NATO. I will elaborate on one part of the military aspect, the "parity" principle after the Berlin Wall fell, which I found the most intriguing.