Abstract

Since the end of World War Two in 1945 until 1990 the European security environment has been shaped by the powerful military alliances North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and Warsaw Pact (WAPA) . While Eastern-Europe (Poland, former German Democratic Republic, former Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria) was controlled by Soviet Union, the most of West- and Shout-Europe (Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Island, Luxemburg, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece) was under a loose control by the most powerful NATO member-states USA, Great Britain and France. Besides the military alliances a handful neutral and non-aligned countries (Sweden, Finland, Austria, Switzerland, Albania, Yugoslavia and Ireland) played in the strategic game of both superpowers only a secondary role. One of the most important strategy in the so-called “Cold War” period was “the arms race” which led to be always read for fight to over-manned and over-equipped armed forces.

Keywords: security, NATO, Cold War ~ biztonság, NATO, Hidegháború