The U.S. and the search for stability in S.E. Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean
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Abstract
Recent developments in Southeastern Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean raise serious concerns about regional stability and about the long term
consequences of American policy in this region. The paper reviews how the search for regional stability determined American policy since 1947 and, especially, since the end of the Cold War. The Post-Cold War crises in the Balkans became a new source of friction in US-European relations. American interventions in problems such as those in Bosnia, Kosovo and Imia temporarily defused these problems. However, a future resolution of these problems may create a new source of regional instability. Since 11 September 2001, the “war on terrorism” became the new focus of American foreign and security policy. As in the past, American policy continues to rely on unholy alliances with unsavory regimes to attain its objectives. This is likely to lead to “blowback” situations contributing to greater regional instability.
consequences of American policy in this region. The paper reviews how the search for regional stability determined American policy since 1947 and, especially, since the end of the Cold War. The Post-Cold War crises in the Balkans became a new source of friction in US-European relations. American interventions in problems such as those in Bosnia, Kosovo and Imia temporarily defused these problems. However, a future resolution of these problems may create a new source of regional instability. Since 11 September 2001, the “war on terrorism” became the new focus of American foreign and security policy. As in the past, American policy continues to rely on unholy alliances with unsavory regimes to attain its objectives. This is likely to lead to “blowback” situations contributing to greater regional instability.
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