Abstract
Three hundred years ago the armies of eastern and western Europe confronted each other before the walls of Vienna to decide fate of the continent. Today diplomats from East and West are facing each other within the walls of Vienna to decide on measures to reduce and control armed forces in Europe. A decisive battle must be avoided. This would seem to suggest progress in the nature of political relations among nations and governments. But wait. The Viennese celebrated this year’s 300th anniversary of the liberation of their city from Kiuprili Vizier Kara Mustafa’s siege with a week-long festival. No one, however, celebrated a short time later the occasion of the Vienna disarmament conference’s tenth anniversary. There was nothing to celebrate.
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References
Final Communique on Preparatory Consultations Relating to Mutual Reduction of Forces and Armaments in Central Europe, June 28, 1973, in:AC DA (Ed.), Documents on Disarmament 1973, Washington, D.C. 1975, p. 36 3.
Record of Plenary Meeting on Preparatory Consultations on Central Europe:Rules of Procedure and Participation, May 14, 1973, ibid. p. 253.
See:William B. Pendergast, “Mutual and Balanced Force Reduction - Issues and Prospects,” Washington, D.C. 1978, pp. 58–60.
Ministerial Session of the North Atlantic Council, Final Communique, December 16, 1966, in:NATO Information Service (Ed.), Texts of Final Communiques 1949–74, Brussels n.d., p. 178.
See:Timothy W. Stanley and Darnell M. Whitt, “Detente Diplomacy - United States and European Security in the 1970’s,”New York 1970;
Wolfgang Klaiber et al., “European Security and Force Reductions” Lexington, Mass. 1973.
The best comprehensive description of the development and evolution of the negotiations is:John G. Keliher, The Negotiations on Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions - The Search for Arms Control in Central Europe, New York n.d. (1980).
Academic works from American and German universities and submitted in the form of typescripts are a major source for political analyses of particular aspects of the negotiations. Among them are:Jane M.O. Sharp, “MBFR as Arms Control?” Harvard University, 1976;
Gale A. Mattox, “West German Security— The Implications of Mutual Troop Reductions,” University of Virginia, 1977;
P. Terrence Hopmann, “Bargaining within and between Alliances on MBFR:An Interim Report,” University of Minnesota, 1978;
Paul E. Zinner, “Report on the Status of MBFR Negotiations as Observed in Vienna in the Fall of 1977,” University of California, 1978;
Kenneth H. Jacobsen, “Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions (MBFR) Negotiations and the Emerging Political-Military Balance in Europe,” George Washington University, 1979;
Manfred Görtemaker, “Verhandlungen fiber wechsel- seitige Truppenverminderungen (MBFR) und die europäische Sicherheit-Kriegsverhütung und Interessen- politik,” Free University Berlin, 1975;
Ludwig Mailinger, “MBFR - Die Sicherheitspolitik der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und die Wiener Abrüstungsverhandlungen,” Hochschule der Bundeswehr München, München, 1980;
Peter Schmidt, “Wechselwirkung zwischen Rtistungskon- trolle und Verteidigungspolitik — Das Beispiel der Beziehungen zwischen MBFR und Heeressystem in der Bundesrepublik,” University of Mannheim, 1981;
Susanne Feske and Randolph Nikutta, “Sind Militär- und Rüstungspotentiale in Ost und West vergleichbar? Eine Untersuchung mit besonderem Bezug auf die sowjetische Haltung bei den Wiener MBFR-Verhandlungen,” Free University of Berlin, 1981.
Eastern opening proposal of November 8, 1973, Western opening proposal of November 22, 1973. Neither text has been made public, but their contents are well- known.
For detailed information on the contents of the Eastern drafts treaty of February 18, 1982 and the Western draft treaty of July 8, 1982, see:Reinhard Mutz (Hg.), “Die Wiener Verhandlungen über Truppen- reduzierungen in Mitteleuropa (MBFR) 1973–1982,”
Eastern Press Statement in Vienna on July 19, 1978. Baden-Baden, 1983, pp. 287–293, pp. 297–303.
See:Lawrence Freedman, “Arms Control in Europe,” London, 1981;
The Arms Control Reporter v. 12, 1982;
Moscow edition of Novoe Vremia, v. 34, 1982. All figures relate to land forces in the MBFR zone.
Presse- und Informationsamt der Bundesregierung, “Beiderseitige ausgewogene Truppenverminderungen (MBFR),” Bonn, 1980, p. 11.
See:David Barton et al., “Negotiations for Conventional Force Reductions and Security in Europe,” in:SIPRI (Ed.), World Armaments and Disarmament Yearbook 1983, London and New York, 1983, p. 602.
Stanley R. Sloan, East-West Troop Reductions in Europe:Is Agreement Possible? U.S. Congress, Congressional Research Service, Washington, D.C., 1983, pp. 14–16.
“Reductions Should Include Stationed and Indigenous Forces and their Weapons Systems in the Area Concerned,” NATO declaration on MBFR on May 27, 1970, (“Signal of Rome”), 3. (c).
See:Keliher, op. cit, pp. 158–161. Keliher was also a member of the American MBFR delegation in Vienna for a while.
This refers to the so-called “Rogers Plan” of NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. Similar in orientation and argumentation is:Robert R. Bowie et al.,“Strengthening Conventional Deterrence in Europe — Report on the European Security Study (ESECS),” London and Basingstoke, 1983.
Pleading the case for such a reorientation of the negotiations is:Jeffrey Record, “Force Reductions in Europe:Starting Over,” Cambridge, Mass. and Washington, D.C., 1980.
See:Eastern Press Statement in Vienna on June 23, 1983.
Jonathan Dean, “MBFR:From Apathy to Accord,” in:International Security, v.4, 1982–1983, pp. 128–129.
See:IISS (Ed.), “The Military Balance 1973–1974,” London, 1974, and following volumes.
Record, op. cit., p. VII.
Deutsches Allgemeines Sonntagsblatt, April 10, 1983.
See:SIPRI (Ed.), World Armaments and Disarmament Yearbook 1981, London, 1981, pp. XVII-XIX.
See:Dean, op. cit., p. 129;
Theodor H. Winkler, “Arms Control and the Politics of European Security,” Adelphi Paper No. 177, London, 1982, pp. 22–24.
The relationship between potential American troop withdrawals and the Vienna negotiations has already been the subject of Congressional hearings, See:“NATO Troop Withdrawals,” Hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate, Ninety-Seventh Congress, Second Session, November 30, 1982, Washington, 1982.
John Borawski,“MBFR,” in:National Defense, No. 383, 1982, p. 14.
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© 1984 Plenum Press, New York
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Mutz, R. (1984). MBFR: Problems and Lessons. In: Avenhaus, R., Huber, R.K. (eds) Quantitative Assessment in Arms Control. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-2805-6_5
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