Review by Choice Review
Rudney and Reychler have put together a comprehensive set of articles on the security policies of every European state outside the Soviet bloc, including the major actors and other important but often neglected countries such as Turkey, Italy, Benelux, and the neutrals. The chapters are comprehensive in another respect: they treat security in a broad context, and thus cover not merely the East-West dimension of each country's policy, but "out-of-area" issues (French interests in the Pacific and Spain's stake in North Africa, for example) and terrorism or internal unrest. Another useful feature is the allowance for comparison: most contributors have followed a similar format, addressing first each country's assessment of the threats it faces (taking into account official and opposition views), and then examining policy responses. In general the pieces are of comparable quality, though the chapters on Britain, Holland, Belgium, and Norway are better than most; the second piece on France is less thorough. The volume's one flaw could not be avoided: events moved so quickly in 1986-87 that the emphasis on strategic defense is somewhat outdated, and--more importantly--the implications of the medium-range missle treaty could not be covered. A valuable reference for scholars, undergraduates, and graduate students. -C. Clemens, College of William and Mary
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
