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141. The keys to understanding the Israel-Russia

Author:
Pierre Razoux
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
The world financial crisis, the Iranian crisis and the Georgian crisis illuminate through different prisms the complex relations between Israel and Russia.The seeming contradictions of this odd couple are a constant source of serious concern and perplexity to theWestern world, and to NATO in particular, all the more so since Russia sent its army into Georgia and is back on the world stage as an essential player.Why is it that only six weeks after the verbal clash over the Georgian crisis in August 2008 (when Russia accused Israel of having armed and trained the Georgian army), Russia and Israel abolished their visa regulations, thus facilitating reciprocal trade? How do we explain the acceleration of capital flows between the two countries, at a time when world trade is clearly slowing down? And why is it that Moscow, after Washington, is still a destination of choice of Israeli prime ministers, while the Israeli authorities continue to insist that Israel has a special relationship with the United States? Are we to infer from this, then, that Israel and Russia are upgrading their strategic ties, as a popular Turkish magazine suggests ? Lastly, why was Israel one of the very few states in the Middle East to maintain regular relations with Russia after the ColdWar, unlike the many Arab states who coldshouldered their former arms supplier just as it was preparing to deliver sophisticated missile systems to Syria and a nuclear power station to Iran? For many observers, trapped in Cold War thinking, it was impossible to imagine Israel and Russia, the USSR's successor, as anything other than irreconcilable adversaries. This perception of Israel as the West's champion against Sovietsupported Arab countries overlooked the fact that the Arab-Israeli conflict arose from a regional conflict that went way beyond the confines of East-West confrontation. It also failed to take into account the deep and longstanding bonds between Israel and Russia, particularly in the area of immigration.
Topic:
Diplomacy and International Affairs
Political Geography:
Russia, Europe, Middle East, Israel, Arabia, and Syria

142. Barack Obama's foreign policy what can NATO expect from the next U.S. President?

Author:
Patrick Keller
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Barack Obama was elected to the presidency of the United States on the promise of “hope” and “change.”2 Although somewhat vacuous, these promises worked because the people in America – and across the globe – overwhelmingly long for an end of the Bush era which stands for wrong wars (or at least wars gone wrong), hubris, and an overall decline of U.S. economic power, political influence, and moral standing. All presidents seek to leave their lasting imprint on foreign affairs, their doctrine. Most of them, however, merely oscillate between continuity and change: in the absence of major interfering events such as 9/11, institutional inertia, political constraints, and the wisdom of tradition most often push presidents to maintain the status quo while only tinkering with the edges. Revolution, in democratic systems, is a very slow process.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Government
Political Geography:
United States and America

143. NATO and 21st Century War

Author:
Samuel Grier
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
There is an expectation that the West, and the United States in particular, faces catastrophe in Iraq and Afghanistan. Confronted with significant casualties arising from the employment of asymmetric warfare by determined adversaries, the United States and its NATO and Coalition partners have found decisive solutions to both conflicts elusive. Similarly, the challenges confronting Iraqis are daunting, and according to the recently released declassified Key Findings of the U.S. National Intelligence Estimate, dependence on Coalition forces as an essential stabilizing element in Iraq will continue.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Cooperation, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, and Middle East

144. Cultural Challenges in Military Operations

Author:
Tibor Szvircsev Tresch and Cees M. Coops
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
On 15 and 16 March 2007 a conference was held at the NATO Defense College on the topic of “Cultural Challenges in Military Operations”. It offered a preliminary overview of the operational and multicultural challenges of cooperation among different forces with NGOs, IOs and the local population in theatres.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, International Cooperation, and International Security
Political Geography:
Middle East and Yugoslavia

145. L'operation Active Endeavour et son impact sur le Dialogue méditerranéen de l'OTAN

Author:
Rachid Houdaïgui
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Les attentats du 11 septembre 2001 ont profondément transformé la perception de la menace terroriste dans le monde et le rôle des Etats et des organisations internationales dans la lutte contre celle-ci. La réponse de l'Organisation du Traité de Atlantique Nord (OTAN) a été immédiate et ferme. Le 12 septembre, elle a invoqué, pour la première fois dans son histoire, la clause de défense collective relevant de l'article 5 du Traité de Washington, qui se traduira en pratique, quelques jours plus tard, par le lancement de huit mesures visant à soutenir les Etats-Unis. L'une de ces mesures consiste à déployer des unités des forces navales permanentes en Méditerranée orientale. Le 26 octobre 2001, est lancée l'Opération Active Endeavour (OAE), première et unique opération maritime de lutte contre le terrorisme menée sous l'égide de l'OTAN. Entre 2001 et 2006, l'OAE a vu son champ d'action s'élargir de la sous-région orientale à l'ensemble de la Méditerranée. Le Sommet de l'OTAN à Istanbul en juin 2004, a redimensionné l'OAE en invitant les partenaires1 de l'Alliance à y contribuer. Depuis lors, une dizaine d'Etats du Partenariat pour la paix (PPP) et du Dialogue méditerranéen (DM) ont répondu favorablement à cette invitation: la Russie, l'Ukraine et Israël sont dans une phase d'intégration très avancée; le Maroc, l'Algérie, la Croatie, la Géorgie et la Suède en sont à la phase de négociation intermédiaire.
Topic:
NATO and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe

146. NATO and the Future of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Author:
Joseph F. Pilat and David S. Yost
Publication Date:
05-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
The participants agreed that the NPT is under challenge. Since the late 1990s, there has been growing concern about increasing proliferation dangers, including rogue states and terrorists; cooperation on weapons of mass destruction (WMD) among rogue states; technology diffusion via the Internet as well as through “loose nukes,” materials leakage and brain drain from former Soviet republics, Pakistan and other states and through non-state actors like the A. Q. Khan network; and problems with export controls. The prospects of radiological or nuclear terrorism are seen to be rising; and concern over a proliferation/terrorism nexus after 9/11 has never been higher.
Topic:
Security, NATO, International Cooperation, and Nuclear Weapons

147. Divergences entre Israël et les pays européens de l'OTAN sur la sécurité durable de l'Etat d'Israël

Author:
Ilan Greilsammer
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Au départ de cette recherche il y a une constatation: l'importance des divergences entre Israël et les pays européens de l'OTAN, concernant les solutions durables au conflit israélo-arabe, et concernant la sécurité d'Israël.
Topic:
Security, NATO, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Middle East and Israel

148. Sécurité et stabilité dans le Sahel africain

Author:
Medi Taje
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
«Rivage aride d'une mer abandonnée», ainsi que l'évoque Jean Gallais (1984) , le Sahel africain, terme d'origine arabe, désigne traditionnellement le rivage ou la bordure méridionale du désert. Géographiquement, le Sahel africain, s'étendant de l'Océan Atla ntique à la mer Rouge fait la transition entre le Sahara, plus grand dés ert du monde où il est impossible de cultiver, et la savane où, à la f aveur d'une pluviométrie suffisante, l'homme est en mesure de développer un e agriculture, même rudimentaire. Les risques climatiques, source s de sécheresse et d'une insécurité alimentaire chronique, caractéri sent ce champ aux limites floues et mouvantes.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, and Development
Political Geography:
Africa

149. Russia's Quest for Strategic Identity

Author:
Stanislav Secrieru
Publication Date:
11-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
Since the end of the Cold War, post-Soviet Russia has experienced a profound crisis of strategic identity. Previously a self- sufficient and autonomous international actor, post-Soviet Russia not only had to rethink its domestic political and economic organizational model in depth, but also had to “confront the most significant transformation of its surrounding strategic environment in the past five centuries – the greatest change since the rise of Muscovy.” Russia was challenged not only by the losses of strategically pivotal terrestrial and maritime strongholds, and the rise of powerful actors in its immediate vicinity, but also faced profound changes in the entire international political framework with blurred prospects for the future world order.
Topic:
International Relations, NATO, and Development
Political Geography:
Russia and Soviet Union

150. Defense Reform and the Russian Navy

Author:
Yuri Krupnov
Publication Date:
10-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
NATO Defense College
Abstract:
As recently as 1991 Russia maintained one of the world's largest military establishments. Moscow's powerful armed forces included one of the largest nuclear weapons arsenals. Owing to the profound political, economic and geostrategic transformation that Russia has experienced since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian armed forces have gone through a terrible crisis. The consequences of this crisis persist today. The Russian armed forces must, therefore, continue implementing reforms to deal with the new internal situation and the international security environment.
Topic:
International Relations, Defense Policy, and NATO
Political Geography:
Russia, Soviet Union, and Moscow