The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 602 pages, pdf  Download Back

The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

Publisher: RP-Public Diplomacy Division

Volume: 602 pages, pdf

Description:

Most of this book was written before the dram atic events which have recently altered the political face of Eastern Europe. Whereas progress to ­ wards reforms of the political and econom ic systems of Poland and Hungary had been visible for some time, the end of 1989 and the first few weeks of 1990 have witnessed the realisation by the people of the German Dem ocratic Republic, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia and, after a bitter struggle, Romania, of steps towards freedom and dem ocracy which go far beyond any of our short-term expectations. Both the fa c t and the prospect of reform have brought about changes in all these countries and in their relationships with the international community, the full implications of which have yet to be seen. The bold course of Mr. Gorbachev's reforms within the Soviet Union itself has led to new challenges, not to mention severe internal difficulties, which will not be easily resolved. Above all, however, the changes which are taking place throughout the Warsaw Pact countries have opened up a new and enriched dialogue between East and West - one which offers real hope in place of the prospect of confrontation, and practical proposals for cooperation in place of polemics and the stagnation of cold war politics.