This International Affairs Bulletin contains three articles and a conference review:
Graham Evans’ article concerns Operation Desert Storm, the just war tradition and the new world order. It overviews the events and controversies of the Persian Gulf crisis and poses the question of the morality and legality of violent Western intervention and the consequences for the future conduct of international affairs. The article describes the history of the Just war tradition and analyses the Gulf War in relation to associated criteria, and concludes that of the seven criteria, only two or three were complied with and not without ambiguity. The Gulf War may have been necessary, but it was not necessarily just.
R.D. McKinlay and Greg Mills’ article describes the European Community at the crossed roads. Its thesis is that EC integration has not unravelled in the unidirectional manner envisaged in the cross-roads analogy, but its evolution has been more erratic and incoherent, as envisaged in the crossed roads model. Competing agendas and factors beyond Community control have pulled and pushed EC integration in different directions. More remarkable than the lack of direction is that EC integration has taken place and has not been more erratic.
Maxi van Aardt’s article focuses on the relationship between South Africa and the international community with reference to the socio-economic aspects of the transition to democracy. The economic problems facing South Africa, the reasons for foreign involvement in the area and the possible nature of such involvement are examined. It concludes that without foreign involvement in the form of aid and investment, a new South Africa will not be possible.
The conference review summarises the various views and positions taken at the ‘Reconciliation in Southern Africa’ Conference held in Harare on 28 — 31 October 1991.
