Citation

Saperstein AM. J. Peace Res. 1987; 24(1): 47-60.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1987, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/002234338702400105

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The two part system -- NATO and WTO -- is presently locked into a mutually provoked escalating arms race. The result is economically and socially wasteful and a mortal threat to both as well as the rest of the earth's inhabitants. Given the mutual distrust, a form of defense must be found which is both non-provocative and effective and which can be established unilaterally, if necessary. Such a possible scheme for the 'tinder-box' region of Central Europe, where the two powers confront each other, consists of one or two 'depletion zones': strips parallel to the inter-zone frontier depleted of heavy, conventional, necessarily provocative, offensive military systems but saturated with widely dispersed, effectively armed, civilian militia groups. If aggression should occur, in spite of such a deterrence posture, the invader would suffer significant attrition losses in attempting to penetrate the zone(s) before battle could be joined with the defender's conventional military forces. Additional stopping power comes from lightly armed frontier defenses and long-range, locally guided anti-tank missiles. The results depend both upon the new technologies of fixed, hidden, long-range and man-portable, short-range, precision guided missiles and upon 'new' forms of incorporation and organization of the civilian population for defense. Aside from bemg effective and non-provocative, such a European security stance is economically and socially viable, functions as a clear cut decision making mechanism in a turbulent political world, allows the citizens of the European democracies to feel significantly responsible for their own security and well-being, and serves as a positive political signal to the rest of the world.