The World Today

 

November, 1997

• Bigger NATO, Bigger Sales, by Joanna Spear

  Now that the shape of NATO enlargement is settled and Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary are to be admitted, it is worth focusing on a little noticed issue. Over the last eighteen months there has been significant pressure to persuade the new NATO members to buy fighter aircraft. The fierce struggles between potential suppliers provide a window onto the international arms market.

• Manoeuvering with the Military, by Dov Lynch

  It was once the world's largest fighting machine, but now humiliated by the retreat from Eastern Europe and the Chechen conflict, the successors to the Red Army lack direction. Can Moscow's military be reformed while funding is cut, and still work out its relationship with politicians and civilian advisers?

• Mercenaries, Mines and Mistakes, by Keith Suter

  The South Pacific's longest-running war is the conflict on Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. It began in 1989 and has resulted in the closure of one of the world's largest copper mines. The warring parties have just signed an agreement that offers the best hope yet for an end to the hostilities. Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea has other problems.

• Paying for Pollution, by Michael Grubb

  The climate change convention in Kyoto offers the chance of a remarkable agreement which would help man face the finite nature of the earth's resources. It could equally be a great failure. Might the sale of permits to pollute be one of the keys to its success?

• Democracy - The Only Game in Town?, by Darren Wallis

  Seven decades of political subjugation, marginalisation and frustrated hopes for the left in Mexico will come to an end in December, when the enigmatic Cuauhtémoc Cárdenas and his Party of the Democratic Revolution take power in Mexico City.

• Devolving for a Stronger Union, by Vernon Bogdanor

  The British Parliament will soon consider the biggest constitutional change for 165 years -- bills to set up decision-making bodies for Scotland and Wales will be introduced before Christmas. Will a European-style devolved system of government help unify the Kingdom or be a precursor to its disintegration?

• Coming Soon to a Bank Near You, by Graham Bishop

  In about 300 business days, a new currency will be born for over 300 million people. It will represent a continent of considerable economic power and may rival the dollar to become a reserve currency. The financial markets already developing will discipline governments and affect individual citizens of Europe.

• Run too Fast and You Fall Over, by Martin Gainsborough

  Vietnam has just elected a new political leadership, but the direction of its economic development is less clear. With a new American ambassador in Hanoi the country is trying to put the past behind it. Has enough been done to build confidence for a prosperous future?