Suchergebnisse

Damrel reviews 'Central Asia's New States: Independence, Foreign Policy and Regional Security,' by Martha Brill Olcott.

The process of reinforcement of centralization as a dominating tendency in territorial regulating development is analyzed. It is demonstrated that the centralized model of regional policy has exhausted all its resources and is becoming an obstacle to territorial development. An alternative concept of regional policy, allowing for new factors of territories' development - decentralization of resources, competition, and strategic marketing - is suggested.

The article analyzes the activities of the Commonwealth of Independent States as an organization of regional security. Despite the fact that after the collapse of the Soviet Union about 30 years have passed, the ruling elites of the New Independent States continue to search for their own vectors of foreign and defense policy. The author believes that in the pursuit of the many attributes of independence, these elites still have not defined clear boundaries for themselves where they can sacrifice national sovereignty for the benefit of their own development, but in close cooperation with their neighbors. The CIS, as an umbrella association of the post-Soviet republics, continues to be a platform for dialogue between the leaders of the new generation, not connected by the Soviet past. Their foreign policy is dominated by pragmatism and multivectorness. Therefore, the absence of a rigid managerial dominance in the Commonwealth is for them the key to the success of this regional format. It seems that this means that, using the CIS as a convenient and non-binding stage for communication, the participating states will continue to search for themselves the most profitable areas of cooperation, even if through trial and error. In such a context, the main areas of cooperation will remain the fight against terrorism and organized crime, as well as the use of Russian experience in reflecting new challenges and threats.

GEOGRAPHICAL PROPINQUITY LINKS IN AN INEXTRICABLE MANNER THE SECURITY INTERESTS OF CONTIGUOUS STATES. EACH NATIONAL TERRITORY IS, IPSO FACTO, A POTENTIAL BASE FOR THE DESTABILISATION OF A NEIGHBOURING STATE. AS DEVELOPING LOW-TECHNOLOGY COUNTRIES, NIGERIA AND ALL ITS IMMEDIATE NEIGHBOURS ARE DEVOID OF NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES; THIS FACT RENDERS THEIR SHEER PHYSICAL PROXIMITY THE MORE IMPORTANT SINCE ANY CREDIBLE THREAT TO EACH STATE'S NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE AND TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY MUST NECESSARILY BE RELATED TO ACTIONS OR ACTIVITIES WITHIN EACH STATE. IN THIS REGARD, SEVERAL SITUATIONS HAVE ARISEN IN THE RECENT PAST, IN BOTH NIGERIA AND IN SOME OF THE NEIGHBOURING STATES WHICH CLEARLY CONSTITUTED A THREAT TO THE SECURITY OF PARTS OF THE IMMEDIATE SUB-REGION. IT APPEARS THAT THE PREPAREDNESS OF MANY OF THESE COUNTRIES TO ENTER INTO DEFENCE ARRANGEMENTS WITH THE ERSTWHILE COLONIAL POWERS WAS DICTATED BY A CONSCIOUS DESIRE TO SAFEGUARD THE INDEPENDENCE AND TERRITORIAL INTEGRITY OF THE NATION-STATE PER SE, AND, BY IMPLICATION, THE PARTICULAR INTERESTS OF THE INCUMBENT REGIME.

The author discusses the three major objectives of U.S. Security policy in South Asia: (1) contain nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, East, & Central Asia; (2) prevent an India-Pakistan nuclear war; & (3) contain the roots of global transnational terrorism by eliminating terrorist havens in South Asia. In the discussion on nuclear proliferation, the author focuses on the Eisenhower administration's "Atoms for Peace" policy, the Carter administration's 'stick' approach of economic sanctions, & the Reagan's administration's use of a 'carrot' approach in the form of military & economic aid to Pakistan. The discussion of the India-Pakistan crises begins with the 1998 nuclear tests conducted by each country. Finally, the discussion on terrorism focuses on post 9/11 strategies to contain terrorism. J. Harwell