The World Today Sierra Leone: Banquet for Warlords The barbarity of the Revolutionary United Front during Sierra Leone’s civil war is not to be underestimated, any more than the courage of peacekeepers and journalists who run the very real risk of being killed. It is no wonder that Freetown lives in fear of rebels that, together with rogue soldiers, killed some six thousand people in January last year.
The World Today Ethiopia: Bitter foes How did Ethiopia so rapidly change the balance of power in its two-year dispute with neighbouring Eritrea? New tactics and strategy certainly caught Eritrea unawares. Continued success would also have an impact on Ethiopia’s internal affairs, as well as its regional role.
The World Today Russia: Putin's power plays The new president is moving swiftly to put his own stamp on the power structures of Russia. But he is dealing with an age old problem and there is no guarantee that those at a local level will cooperate. In any event, it is much easier to destroy authority than to create it. President Vladimir Putin’s second week in office confirmed once and for all that Russia’s media and political class regard him as little less than a political wonder-worker. Their reaction to his assault on regional power was astonishing in its credulity.
The World Today European Foreign Policy: Projecting Stability The Common Foreign and Security Policy has developed slowly in the European Union. It is still weak, because it is an area in which the member states are rightly jealous of their national prerogatives. There are distinct limits on how far they want to go in pooling their capacity, and on how much they want to spend. But in recent years they have begun to fashion a policy which can be more than just declaratory. It is a policy which will allow us to promote global stability.
The World Today Latin America: Equality, poverty, democracy In the opening months of the new century, the political news from Latin America has been disheartening. This has spurred another outbreak of that ‘whither democracy?’ media commentary that seems to favour stark pessimism over bland optimism, on the assumption that the former might sound like realism while the latter can appear to be naïveté.
The World Today Sri Lanka: Tiger trouble The longstanding conflict in the north east of Sri Lanka appears to be reaching a critical juncture. Whilst renewed fighting is hardly unusual in this seventeen year war between the Tamil Tigers and Sri Lankan security forces, the scale and direction of current battles suggest that the Tigers may be close to victory, if their leadership cares to see it that way. The rapid reverse in government fortunes presents dilemmas all round.
The World Today Books - Russia and Germany: Everyone Unprepared Russia and Germany Reborn: Unification, the Soviet, Collapse, and the New Europe by Angela E Stent Published by Princeton University Press, 1999
