The World Today

Is there to be another showdown with a Middle East state over material that might be useful for weapons of mass destruction, or will cooperation prevail?

Hostility to the United States in the Arab and Muslim world has never been greater, according to a panel of American experts charged with setting a new strategic direction there.

At a moment of great international uncertainty, Japan is to elect a new government on November 9. Faced with the nuclear threat from North Korea and challenges over Iraq, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will need all his maverick leadership skills if he is to extend his authority.

The largest military operation in the South Pacific since the Second World War is now under way. An Australian-led regional force has intervened in the Solomon Islands at the national parliament’s invitation. This may signal a new era: Australia and New Zealand have previously resisted all calls for military interventions in the area. Worries about failed states and terrorism have sent the warships to sea, but the problems are unlikely to have military solutions.

It’s an oil producer of some note and Washington is pursuing a policy of regime change, but the troubles of Venezuela have gone largely unnoticed. Constitutional procedures to remove the president lumber on but are unlikely to produce domestic peace and stability. There is a risk it could become a failed state.

War No More: Eliminating Conflict in the Nuclear Age by Robert Hinde and Joseph Rotblat. Pluto Press, August 2003. 240 pages, £10.99Blair’s Wars by John Kampfner. Free Press, September 2003. 384 pages, £17.99