MISCELLANY of IFIMES 2006
MISCELLANY of IFIMES 2006

Author(s): Zijad Bećirović
Subject(s): Security and defense, Geopolitics, Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: IFIMES Mednarodni inštitut za bližnjevzhodne in balkanske študije
Summary/Abstract: The IFIMES Yearbook 2006 concentrates on the Middle East and the Balkans, which have certainly been two of the most important strategic regions for European security in the past few years. Although I welcome very much the improvements achieved in the Balkans in recent years, there is no doubt that the international community is still far from achieving reconciliation among the countries concerned and the integration of the western Balkans into Euro-Atlantic structures. There is still much work to do. Equally, many of our hopes for a lasting settlement between Arabs and Israelis in the Middle East have been dashed, despite the efforts of both the United States and the EU in the Quartet and the Anapolis Peace initiative to push towards a two state solution for the Israelis and Palestinians. The recent conflict in Gaza demonstrates both the lack of an agreed framework for peace and the even greater urgency for the new US Administration as well as the European Union to work towards one. As policy makers take up the challenge of finding lasting solutions to overcome the divisive historical legacy of conflicts in the Balkans and the Middle East, they need to have a sophisticated understanding of the background to these conflicts, they need to base their analysis and the policy options on in-depth knowledge, rather than episodic newspaper reports or emotional TV pictures. They need to understand better what has succeeded or failed in past peace making endeavours. In all of these crucial areas the experts contributing to the IFIMES Yearbook 2006 have once more provide indispensable insights and guidance. This is yet another reason why I commend this Yearbook to anyone who is seriously concerned with the state of the world today. (Jamie Shea)

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