Suchergebnisse

THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS THAT AWAIT U.S. FOREIGN POLICY IN THE 1990S AND BEYOND. IT PROVIDES A FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYSIS, AND THEN AN OVERVIEW OF FORTY YEARS OF CONTAINMENT. IT ARGUES THAT THE MOST SERIOUS CHALLENGE FOR THE UNITED STATES IS TO FIND A NEW PURPOSE FOR ITS POWER AND A NEW FOCUS FOR ITS FOREIGN POLICY. THE GREATEST CHALLENGE FOR THE UNITED STATES IS TO ADJUST ITSELF TO THE NEW EMERGING REALITIES OF THE INTERNATIONAL AND ECONOMIC SYSTEMS.

IN ORDER TO GIVE SOME RATIONAL EXPLANATION FOR OPEC'S DURABILITY, GIVEN ITS DIVERSITY OF STATES AND NATIONAL INTERESTS, THIS ARTICLE USES CERTAIN THEORIES OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICAL ECONOMY AND EXAMINES THE HISTORICAL RECORD OF OPEC'S ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT. THE ANALYSIS WILL FOCUS ON THE ECONOMIC AND STRATEGIC POLICIES OF THE PERSIAN GULF MEMEBERS OF THIS ORGANIZATION. HOW HAS OPEC MANAGED TO SURVIVE WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO BRING ABOUT AN END TO THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR OF THE 1980S OR THE GULF CRISIS OF 1990-91? WHAT MOTIVATING VARIABLES KEPT IT INTACT? WHAT LESSONS CAN BE LEARNED FROM OPEC'S BEHAVOUR IN CONFLICT MANAGEMENT? HOW COULD THESE LESSONS BE APPLIED IN COMPREHENDING THE BEHAVIOR OF OPEC IN ITS INDEAVORS TO CONTAIN FUTURE CONFLICTS INVOLVING ITS MEMEBERS? ANSWERS TO THESE QUESTIONS ARE SOUGHT IN THIS ARTICLE.