Author: Yevgeny M Primakov
Publisher: Manas Publications
Year: 2005
Language: English
Pages: 000
ISBN/UPC (if available): 8170492289
Description
In this candid and sobering account, former Russian premier Yevgeny M Primakov considers the threats posed by independent terrorist organizations to the security of the global community.
As the attacks of September 11, 2001, made clear, the course of international affairs is no longer shaped exclusively by cooperation and confrontation among nations. Stateless factions with extreme agendas-their methods enhanced by globalization and technological advances-pose serious threats to global stability.
Primakov expresses grave concern over the likelihood that independent terrorist organizations will obtain weapons of mass destruction. More than 100 nations are stockpiling nuclear material, he writes, and there is no reason to believe that all of it is well managed or protected. Terrorist group intent on developing a weapon can easily find the information and fissile material to develop a compact nuclear device.
He recommends that the global community develop a comprehensive Charter on Terrorism to facilitate criminal prosecution of terrorism. And he urges Russia and the United States to join forces more readily to share information and intelligence about emerging terrorist threats.
REVIEW
Yevgeny Primakov’s new book, A World Challenged, makes an important contribution to understanding how Moscow views its role in this new international environment, Primakov is an experienced and astute observer of the international arena, Whatever one thinks of his views, he has been an enlightened academic and a serious and pragmatic official.
His worldview clearly reflects mainstream Russian thinking-with all its complexities-on Russia’s place in the twenty-first-century international system, So long as Russia remains a serious power that can affect vital U s objectives in areas such as the war on terrorism and nonproliferation, Russian views do matter and should be understood and, where appropriate, taken into account in order to make American foreign policy more effective.
-From the foreword by Henry A Kissinger