New opportunities for the neglected basket?

This article is part of the Special Issue on “The OSCE at 50: Reflections on security, cooperation and human rights”, published on a rolling basis between July and November 2025. The Special Issue was curated and edited Walter Kemp and Christian Strohal, Security and Human Rights Monitor Editorial Board members and guest editors-in chief.

Abstract

This paper explores the historical marginalization and evolving significance of the OSCE’s economic and environmental dimension—the so-called “second basket”—within the broader context of the Organization’s three-dimensional approach to security. It traces the skepticism and underdevelopment that characterized this dimension during the Cold War and post-Cold War periods, contrasting it with the more institutionally and politically robust first (politico-military) and third (human rights) dimensions. The analysis highlights how shifts in global security threats—particularly the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation, alongside Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine—have created new opportunities for the second dimension to assert relevance. The paper details the OSCE’s recent environmental initiatives, including climate-security programming and post-war recovery support in Ukraine, emphasizing the Organization’s potential as a flexible and effective multilateral actor. It concludes by reflecting on the urgency of integrating environmental challenges into comprehensive security strategies and argues that the second dimension, once neglected, is now pivotal to the OSCE’s future role in promoting stability, trust, and resilience across its participating States.

DOI: 10.58866/DQNT7903