This new Handbook brings together key experts on European security from the academic and policy worlds to examine the European Union (EU) as an international security actor. While the focus is on the politico-military dimension, security will be put in the context of the holistic approach advocated by the EU.

Each January the regional analysts at the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI), U.S. Army War College assess global trends that are likely to determine the state of the world through the next decade. From these assessments study proposals are devised which focus on those issues and trends impacting on the requirements for maintaining America's Army as a strategic force during the coming years. In 1995, the analysts at SSI estimate that 14 major determinants will significantly influence the Army's posture, U.S. interests, and national military strategy:" The debate between the services pertaining to roles admissions will continue. Fiscal constraints will necessarily exacerbate the competition over roles and missions as each service tries to define its parameters in the wake of political change, an uncertain and constantly evolving international situation, and the ongoing Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA)." The Army will articulate and refine its vision as a strategic force for the 21st century as it re-engineers itself into Force XXI." Fiscal constraints will also continue to drive national priorities. Added to the budgetary restraints will be the uncertainties accompanying the changes in the political leadership in Congress where Republicans have replaced Democrats as chairs of all committees in both the House and Senate." U.S. forces will continue to be used in Military Operations Other Than War (MOOTW). However, ongoing emphasis on peacekeeping and peace enforcement operations in consonance with United Nations and other coalition partner swill cause the debate on the efficacy of this kind of use of U.S. force to intensify." The Caribbean will remain troublesome as the political and economic crisis in Cuba deepens. In Haiti, rising expectations will not be matched with socioeconomic progress and frustrations could well foster violence as the time for withdrawal of U.N. peacekeeping forces nears.

Since the end of the Cold War, academic debate over the nature of war in the contemporary world has focused upon the asymmetric nature of conflict among a raft of failed or failing states, often held together by only a fragile notion of a shared communal destiny. Little scholarly attention has been paid, however, to one such conflict that predates the ending of the Cold War, yet still appears as intractable as ever: Israel's hostile relationship with Lebanon and in particular, its standoff with the Lebanese Shi'a militia group, Hizbollah. As events surrounding the 'Second Lebanon War' in the summer of 2006 demonstrate, the clear potential for further cross border violence as well as the potential for a wider regional conflagration that embraces Damascus and Tehran remains as acute as ever. This book focuses on the historical background of the conflict, while also considering the role that other external actors, most notably Syria, Iran and the United Nations, play in influencing the conduct and outcomes of the Israeli-Lebanese conflict. In addition, it also looks at Hizbollah's increasing sway in Lebanese domestic politics, its increased military cooperation with Iran and Syria, and the implications of such developments.