The World Today - April issue

27 March 2008

Robin Shepherd writes that the forthcoming NATO Summit is likely to be 'one of the most significant and challenging gatherings of alliance leaders in years' in this month's issue of The World Today.

NATO stands at the brink. Some see it consolidating success in delivering peace and stability in Europe. Others point to the colossal challenges it faces. NATO's campaign in Afghanistan is the most urgent of these challenges and concrete support for more troops, trainers and equipment is a necessary prerequisite for a successful summit at Bucharest.

Kosovo's recent declaration of independence has put added strain on the NATO mission. There are fears of a knock-on effect in Bosnia-Herzegovina if more countries recognise Kosovo's independence.

NATO's relationship with Russia will also be high on the agenda at Bucharest, with Russia perceiving the possible expansion of NATO to include the Western Balkans as a threat to their own security. This is essentially a non-existent threat and NATO should take the opportunity at Bucharest to be bold and ambitious about its future.

There is much to occupy minds as leaders prepare to meet in Bucharest and yet the NATO project has never looked more worthwhile. 'The prize of a Europe genuinely whole, genuinely free and genuinely at peace is very close to being grasped'.

Full list of contents:

NATO Summit: Fears for the Future
Robin Shepherd

Afghanistan - Drugs: Hard Habit to Break
Joanna Shayer

Book Review: Know Your Enemy
Timo Noetzel

Pakistan and Afghanistan: Between Bullet and Ballot
Ayesha Khan

United States elections and the Islamic World: Breaking the Mould
Maha Azzam

The United States and Latin America: All the Friends it Can Get
Paulo Wrobel

Israel at Sixty: Young Country, Same Old Conflict
Yossi Mekelberg

Sixty Years of Israel: Breaking the Logic
Khaled Hroub

Book Review - Torture: Democracy's Dirty Work
David Bentley

India and Africa: India Calling
Alex Vines and Elizabeth Sidiropolous

Kosovo: Deeply Destabilising
Yuri Fedotov

Italy - Election and Economy: Time for Excitement
Vanessa Rossi

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