The World Today

Perhaps in security matters most of all, the US President can lead his country and sometimes the rest of the world. How will foreign and security policy play in the George W Bush administration, and what does it mean for Europe?

In his inaugural address, President Bush spoke of ‘shaping a balance of power that favours freedom.’ What have the end of the Cold War, environmental issues, international crime and humanitarian interventions done for the balance of power? Is it a concept worth bothering with and do we need to worry about new centres of power?

Human Rights on the Internet, by Halperin, Hicks and Hoskins. Published by Palgrave

Saving Strangers by Nicholas Wheeler. Published by Oxford University Press

The Korean Peninsula is witnessing a new era of co-existence after its long period of confrontation following the Korean War. But rapid political developments conceal serious economic problems in the North resulting from catastrophic cuts in energy production. Providing power is straining resources in the South but international energy cooperation offers North Korea the chance to develop, increase revenue and gain political clout.

Germany is worried about the growth of the extreme right and its access to weapons. But while the Constitutional Court is deciding whether the National Democratic Party is a threat to democracy, mainstream parties also need to respond to issues of unemployment, immigration and what it means to be German.