Forty years after the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) launched a new multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiation between East and West, its successor, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), faces vital challenges in the conflict in Ukraine. The very fundamentals of the CSCE process have been called into question. What dynamics led to the 1975 Helsinki Accords and the era of détente that ensued in Europe? What were its intended and unintended consequences for European security? What does previously inaccessible archival evidence reveal? Are there lessons to be learned from the Helsinki Process? Join us for a discussion with leading experts and veteran diplomats about the origins and impact of the CSCE--essential context to today’s crisis.

The Ahtisaari Symposium series, established at the Wilson Center in 2010 in honor of Nobel Laureate and former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, provides a forum for discussion of historical and policy perspectives on vital European security issues. In cooperation with the University of Helsinki, the Wilson Center also hosts a scholarship program for Finnish professionals from the scholarly, media, business and public policy communities.