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721. Moving Macedonia Towards Self-Sufficiency: A New Security Approach for NATO and the EU

Publication Date:
11-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Macedonia's 15 September 2002 election suggests the country may have turned a corner on the road to stability. Widely anticipated fraud and violence mostly did not materialise. Unlike in neighbouring Kosovo a few weeks later, a cross section of voters from all ethnicities streamed to the polls. They elected a government that has embraced the Framework Agreement brokered by the European Union (EU), the U.S. and NATO at Ohrid in August 2001 to end the incipient civil war and that has pledged to manage inter-ethnic issues through consensus, not simply division of spoils, to overhaul the scandal-plagued “Lions” security unit, and fight massive, endemic corruption.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Eastern Europe, Kosovo, and Macedonia

722. New Capabilities: Transforming NATO Forces

Author:
C. Richard Nelson, Robert Hunter, and George Joulwan
Publication Date:
09-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Of the three important topics on the agenda for the Prague summit – New Capabilities, New Members and New Relationships – the issue of “ new capabilities ” is particularly critical. How well this issue is handled will determine in large measure how members and others, particularly potential adversaries, think about NATO in the future.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
United States and Europe

723. Russia's Security Policy EU-Russian Relations

Author:
Angela Stent, Dmitri V. Trenin, Stephan de Spiegeleire, and François Heisbourg
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:
At the beginning of the 21st century, the central issue of European security is how, not whether, to integrate Russia within Euro-Atlantic institutions. The conditions are now right to move ahead towards that ambitious goal.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, NATO, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Russia and Europe

724. Thoughts Before Yet Another NATO Summit

Author:
Jeffrey Bialos
Publication Date:
09-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Transatlantic Relations
Abstract:
A significant NATO Summit is approaching. The United States and its European allies are at a crossroads. NATO is expanding to embrace former members of the Warsaw Pact. The future role of NATO as a military alliance in the 21st century remains under discussion. Will NATO truly be given tangible new missions and really act out of area, and what force structure will support its strategic objectives? Will the United States and its European partners bridge the gap over how to fight the war now underway? Will the widening gap in military capabilities between the United States and its coalition partners be addressed, and will there ever again be coalition operations with U.S. participation under NATO command? Are Europe and the United States “de-coupling,” with the creation of “Fortress Europe” and “Fortress America” in defense? There is an opportunity to seize the moment, and act on these vital issues.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, Arms Control and Proliferation, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Europe

725. Reconceptualizing NATO

Author:
István Gyarmati and Christopher Walker
Publication Date:
07-2002
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
EastWest Institute
Abstract:
With the NATO summit in Prague less than six months away, leaders on both sides of the Atlantic must quickly construct a new vision for the Alliance. Making NATO relevant for the 21st century requires developing a realistic plan for restructuring forces and re-examining long-held assumptions. NATO leaders must strike a course that recognizes a dramatically changed international landscape. Terrorism, organized crime, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related technologies, and militant fundamentalism have risen to the top of most threat assessments. NATO has not yet made the adjustments necessary to meet these new threats. Political and commercial rifts between the United States and Europe are growing wider, and the technology and capabilities gap between America and its allies draws into question the relevance of European militaries. At the same time, the Alliance is poised to invite a set of new members – possibly as many as seven – to join its ranks. Policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic thus face the daunting challenge of meeting the commitment of enlarging the Alliance while simultaneously transforming it.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, International Cooperation, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Russia, America, Europe, and Asia

726. Democratic Politics and NATO War Making: Great Britain, Germany and America in the Kosovo Crisis

Author:
Scott A. Silverstone
Publication Date:
08-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Department of Social Sciences at West Point, United States Military Academy
Abstract:
NATO's ability to assume an activist military role in the international system will depend on the capacity of its member states to generate and sustain domestic support for using military force and for adapting to the changing military conditions that evolve over the course of armed conflict. This article argues that the ability or willingness of national leaders to use force through NATO will vary significantly depending on the arrangement of their democratic political institutions. In the Kosovo war, while Great Britain was a persistent advocate of a ground assault, Germany threatened to veto any such NATO action. The United States was between these extremes, only slowly moving toward acceptance of a ground assault over the course of the conflict. The key variable, "institutional vulnerability" (defined by the degree to which the executive is vulnerable to being removed from office and losing decision-making autonomy to legislative opponents), is the basis for contrasting Britain's Westminster parliamentary, Germany's coalition parliamentary, and America's presidential systems, and for explaining their policy differences in this crisis.
Topic:
Defense Policy and NATO
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and Kosovo

727. Building Stability in Weak States - The Western Balkans - 4th Workshop of the Study Group "Crisis Management in South East Europe"

Author:
Janusz Bugajski, Aldo Bumçi, Spyros Damtsas, Enver Hasani, Constantin Hlihor, Predrag Jureković, Antonio Leitao, Todor Mirkovic, Albert Rakipi, and Filip Tunjic
Publication Date:
04-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Austrian National Defence Academy
Abstract:
"Building Stability in Weak States" was the topic of a workshop of the Woking Group "Crisis Management in South East Europe" of the PfP Consortium of Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes which was held from 10-11 November 2001 in Tirana. It is no coincidence, however, that the initiative to develop this important topic for the development of security policy in South East Europe originated at the Albanian Institute for International Studies. Albania is seen as typical "weak State" in South East Europe, even though it has recovered from the quasi-civil war of 1997. This publication has ten articles by conference participants ranging from theoretical discussions to case studies from the region.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, NATO, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Europe and Balkans

728. Theories at a loss? EU-NATO fusion and the 'low-politicisation' of security and defence in European integration

Author:
Hanna Ojanen
Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA)
Abstract:
In the European Union, security and defence integration was for a long time seen as impossible or at least highly unlikely. Theories of European integration leaned complacently on the idea that security and defence policy have a specific character that explains this state of affairs. Yet, recent developments seem seriously to challenge their assumptions: the new joint EU crisis management with military means is bound at least to affect, if not replace, the traditional defence policy of the member states.
Topic:
Defense Policy, NATO, International Organization, and International Political Economy
Political Geography:
Europe

729. Iraq: The Transatlantic Debate

Author:
Philip H. Gordon
Publication Date:
12-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
Most Americans see the regime of Saddam Hussein as a major threat to regional and international security that must be thwarted, even if that means threatening or even using military force. If Saddam were to acquire nuclear weapons, they fear, he would seek to use them to dominate the Middle East, possibly invading his neighbours as he has in the past and perhaps deterring the United States from stopping him. His nuclear, biological or chemical weapons, moreover, might end up in the hands of Islamic terrorists who would show no compunction about using them against the United States, or Saddam himself might do so out of a thirst for vengeance. Whereas failure to act in Iraq would make a mockery of the United Nations Security Council and international law, a decisive action to topple Saddam would liberate the Iraqi people, allow the United States to lift sanctions on Iraq and withdraw its forces from Saudi Arabia, and perhaps make progress toward a freer and more democratic Middle East.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
United States, Iraq, Europe, Middle East, Saudi Arabia, and United Nations

730. Iraq: A European Point of View

Author:
Martin Ortega
Publication Date:
12-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
UNSC Resolution 1441 has given the Iraqi regime a last opportunity to abandon any WMD programmes. If Iraq does not comply fully with the resolution or if inspections show that Iraq is indeed hiding WMD, the Security Council will have to consider the situation and decide what measures must be taken to maintain international peace and security.
Topic:
Security and NATO
Political Geography:
Iraq, Europe, and Middle East