ABSTRACT
The revolutionary changes in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe and the acceleration of political change in Asia, Africa, and elsewhere have made the promotion of democracy as a stabilizing force in international affairs a core objective of Western policy makers. But the spread of democracy also poses dilemmas concerning both process and outcome in developing societies. The prominence of radical Islamic terrorism in Western perception may also influence the extent and the character of the US and European role in peacekeeping operations, many of which are likely to be conducted in Muslim countries. Islam is at the very center of some of the most serious contemporary conflicts of the nature, from the Balkans to the Caucasus and Central Asia. It is axiomatic that the end of the Cold War and the disintegration of the Soviet Union have released destabilizing forces of nationalism and ethnic friction both within Europe and on its periphery.
