Good Read - Stefan Wolff, Economic Diplomacy and Connectivity: What Role for the OSCE?

Stefan Wolff, professor of international security at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom, recounts that he first became interested in economic connectivity when he was approached by the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions to undertake research on how trade might mitigate conflict.  He wrote a paper on the question together with a colleague and went on to lead the Network’s project OSCE Confidence Building in the Economic and Environmental Dimension. 

In this new study, Economic Diplomacy and Connectivity: What Role for the OSCE?, Wolff deepens his exploration of the link between economic relations and security in the context of the OSCE’s multilateral diplomacy. Two workshops, in Vienna and Birmingham, with the participation of the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities provided input for the realization of the publication.

Connectivity, a driver of economic development

Wolff introduces the concept of “economic connectivity” at the beginning of his study as referring to any form of informal economic relationship among states or groups of states, be it trade, business activities, financial relationships or human mobility. 

Economic connectivity – not to be confused with “economic integration”, he warns –   is a major driver of economic development, especially in today’s globalized world. Citing a recent World Bank paper he notes that the more connectivity exists across multiple channels, the more beneficial it is. 

The political factor

While connectivity depends on many factors including geography, transport networks, communication and energy infrastructures, Wolff makes a case for the great importance of the political factor – good governance, harmonization of regulatory and legal frameworks – to ensure that more connectivity also leads to greater security. 

In itself, however, the increased interdependence of countries brought about by economic connectivity can lead to increased vulnerability. “Managing vulnerability by developing and implementing a common framework for ‘sustainable and rules-based connectivity’ is critical if economic connectivity is to deliver to its full potential for states and citizens alike,” Wolff writes. It is here that multilateral diplomacy, undergirded by political will, has an indispensable role to play, he contends. 

A unique role for the OSCE

What role could and should the OSCE play in enhancing the benefits of economic connectivity? In answering the question, Wolff points to the fact that present-day economic diplomacy in the region was given its first impetus through the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, when participating States gave themselves the mandate of “promoting better relations among themselves and ensuring conditions in which their people can live in true and lasting peace free from any threat to attempt against their security.”  Many actors have arisen since that time to promote connectivity in the region, and Wolff provides a useful overview of their various activities.

Despite the crowded space, he concludes, there is a unique and essential role for the OSCE to play in economic diplomacy, given its focus on security, its network of field operations in key areas such as the Balkans and Central Asia, and its ability to connect not only with governments but also with the private sector and civil society.  He substantiates his claim with an account of the OSCE’s positive track record in promoting connectivity and its current activities since participating States adopted the Ministerial Council Decision on Strengthening Good Governance and Promoting Connectivity in Hamburg in 2016. 

Wolff concludes his study with his vision of how the OSCE’s role as a promoter of connectivity could develop as an international platform for knowledge generation, mediation, and exchange. With new connectivity challenges looming on the horizon, including the rising influence of China, a solid foundation of connectivity-related knowledge and practice in the OSCE could ensure that they elicit a response from participating States that is integrative and not divisive.