Foreign & Security Policy

The Czech EU Presidency was thrown right into the middle of the war in Gaza. And Czech politicians stumbled. Unlike the majority of their colleagues from Western Europe, who condemned Israel’s actions as disproportionate, the Czech prime and foreign ministers initially blamed Hamas for the conflict.

The crucial question is whether Israel under the given circumstances had a choice? Could anything be achieved otherwise? Where the objectives justified? Are we any closer now to a better future? The tragic paradox four weeks ago was that any course of action Israel would have chosen had the potential of being self-defeating.

Shlomo Brom analyses the objectives of the Israeli campaign in Gaza and suggests possible ways for Israel to maximise a sound exit strategy in light of these objectives.

It is clear that Operation Cast Lead will end with a new ceasefire. Still, it remains to be seen what the new US Administrations policies for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are.

Far from achieving the intended blow against al-Qaeda and Sunni insurgents in Iraq, the recent American incursion into Syrian territory undermines voices of moderation in Syria, and facilitates the recruitment efforts of extremist Islamist groups in a country that has every reason to be wary of the terrorist threat.

The particular danger of islamophobia is its potential to forge a broad alliance of otherwise opposed political forces: Muslims serve as the embodiment of the ultimate enemy for conservatives striving for Western hegemony – and for progressives standing up for freedom of expression, rationality, human rights, and the rights of women.

Ethnic and religious conflicts have increased significantly. The international community was largely helpless in the face of genocide in Rwanda and the Balkan wars. Nation building and state building in fragile states has thus become an instrument of international policy. Managing ethnic and and religious conflicts involves finding equilibrium between the territorial integrity of a state and its inherent promise of stability and the principle of a peoples' right to self-determination.

On November 6-7, 2008 South Caucasus Regional Office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation and Bertelsmann Foundation initiated a strategic cooperation dedicated to "A European Strategy for the Southern Caucasus".

After the five-day war between Russia and Georgia, actors, issues and the agenda involved need to be identified. A discussion paper for the conference “A European Strategy for the Southern Caucasus” in Tbilisi on 6-7 November 2008, jointly organized by the Bertelsmann Foundation, Guetersloh and the Heinrich Boell Foundation’s Southern Caucasus Office.

A report on the proceedings of the Annual Foreign Policy Conference 2008, Thursday 11 and Friday 12, September 2008.