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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 03/03
The Gulf, the Near East and the Balkans: What Common Concerns?
November 2002
Abstract
The 11th September events have stirred common concerns among Western allies. At the same time, the evolution of American policy since then has also caused new differences to arise and old ones to resurface. While there is agreement on combating terrorism and the rogue states that support it, there are disagreements on the way to do it as well as priorities.
When coming to the pivotal areas of the Gulf, the Near East and the Balkans - definitely an important segment in the arc of crisis surrounding the huge European periphery - this combination of common concerns and different responses deserves particular attention. Transatlantic gaps risk widening here, whereas there is a large Euro-American opinion wishing to preserve cohesion while carrying out effective policies beyond the Mediterranean Sea. It is in this perspective that this paper, first, looks at American and European concerns in the Gulf, the Near East and the Balkans, their points of agreement and disagreement and, second, tries to envisage some way to harmonize responses.
