ABSTRACT
The start of the 1990s was characterized by a disturbing lack of clarity about fundamental global priorities and political trends. In Israeli terms therefore, the closest attention must continue to be paid not only to the overall structure of international politics, but especially to the central superpower balance. In practice, however, the international political reality suggests even greater complexity, because states today really employ a mixed or integrated strategy for guaranteeing arms supply. Partnerships on the West European model may be an optimal Solution to the weapons trap of vainly pursuing full freedom or too easily becoming resigned to dependency. In the sense the multinational construct may represent the wave of the future in state efforts at satisfying national arms requirements. Employing a broader comparative approach makes it possible to derive practical insights from the individual and collective experience of other like-minded, security-conscious states.
