MISCELLANY of IFIMES 2004
MISCELLANY of IFIMES 2004

Contributor(s): Zijad Bećirović (Editor)
Subject(s): Security and defense, Post-Communist Transformation, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: IFIMES Mednarodni inštitut za bližnjevzhodne in balkanske študije
Summary/Abstract: The Yearbook comprises 31 short texts dealing with most of the various issues that made the global diplomatic agenda in 2004. // For years “Crisis management” and “Crisis prevention” have been key words in the political debate. Unfortunately, no significant progress has been achieved. The world still has to live with surprises - crises and conflicts emerge without early warnings. Political leaders and the public learn about crises and conflicts if and when CNN cameras transport the horrifying pictures via TV into our homes. Political leaders express their surprise about emerging crises and conflicts in Rwanda, Haiti, Former Yugoslavia, Ivory Coast, Congo, Middle East, Former Soviet Union, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, Afghanistan - just to name a few.They react - and sometimes overreact - in panic, pour a lot of resources into damage control and promise to improve the tools for “crisis prevention” - and then forget the crisis and measures for “crisis prevention until the next crisis emerge. Is this cycle a natural law? Are those political crises - like Tsunami - a fact of life we have to live with fatalistically? Are we not capable with all our instruments of world-wide access to information, communications, computers, exchange of knowledge within a nation, between nations and alliances, state and non-state organisations to net a safer world?Are we not willing to spend some money to prevent crises and con-flicts? Is there no political resolve to - at least - reduce the number of surprises?

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