OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation, under Slovenian Chairmanship, explores lessons learnt from First World War for security of Europe today

VIENNA, 30 May 2018 – In a special session to mark the 100th year since the end of the First World War, the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation (FSC), meeting today in Vienna under Slovenia’s Chairmanship, explored the impact of the so-called “Great War” and the lessons it holds for modern international relations and European security.

Ambassador Andrej Benedejčič, Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the OSCE and Chairperson of the Forum, opened the session by reminding participants that the First World War affected the entire OSCE region and all the participating States.  

“Some, like Slovenia, still deal with unexploded ordnance from this period,” said Ambassador Andrej Benedejčič. “In light of its profound impact, it is important to address the origins of one of the deadliest conflicts Europe has ever witnessed, as well as to consider its consequences and possible lessons for the current security context. As one of the surviving Slovenian soldiers wrote in his memoirs, ‘We never imagined such a war!’”

Dr. Božo Repe, Professor of Contemporary History at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Ljubljana, said that historians have been unable to pinpoint when a conscious decision about the war was made, because there wasn’t one.

“The world drifted into it step by step, until it became unmanageable. The war began with local conflicts over territories and geostrategic influence,” he said. “Since its horrors had to be justified, modern propaganda was born. The war divided Europe into a multitude of nation-states with poorly demarcated borders and numerous minorities, setting the scene for processes of ethnic cleansing. The main difference between then and now is that today there are international mechanisms in place, which may prevent a new catastrophe. The role of an organization like the OSCE is therefore extremely important.”  

The First World War can be seen as the result of the failure of political powers to solve crises at the beginning of the 20th century, said Dr. Christian Ortner, Director of the Museum of Military History in Vienna.

“At that time national actors believed in their military supremacy and in war as a means to solve outstanding problems in Europe,” he said. “War not only resulted from political discrepancies, but also from different socio-economic developments. Military planning and posture, as well as demographic developments, also influenced the decision to wage war. Just like it started, the war also ended in an unstructured and contradictory manner. The First World War can also be seen as the first industrialized war in Europe,” Ortner said.

Dr. Catherine Horel, General Secretary of the International Committee of Historical Sciences, spoke about "the end of empires" and the new map of Europe after the First World War, focusing in particular on the changes in Central and South-Eastern Europe.

Later in the day, the Slovenian Chairmanship of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation will welcome representatives of OSCE participating States to a reception at the Museum of Military History in Vienna, where a documentary film about the First World War battles along the Isonzo Front will be screened. In co-operation with the Museum, guests will be invited to guided tours of the Museum’s extensive exhibits from the First World War era.