Zones of Conflict: US Foreign Policy in the Balkans and the Greater Middle East

Product Description The US has several major interests in the Balkans, the Greater Middle East and the wide Eurasian zone, which determine its political and military strategies in the region. What are these interests, and what strategies are used to ensure that they are maintained? Examining the balance of power between the US, the EU and key EU states in the region, Vassilis Fouskas offers a sustained critique of US foreign policy and its underlying motivations. Fouskas argues that the major US objectives include control over gas and oil producing zones; safe transportation of energy to Western markets at stable prices; and the elimination, but not destruction, of America's Eurasian competitors. He asserts that US foreign policy is therefore driven by the desire to maintain a strategic partnership with key EU states, while preventing the emergence of an alternative coalition in Eurasia capable of challenging US supremacy. How does the US manage its interests in Eurasia and what are the particular strategies the EU has elaborated so far to deal with America's supremacy? Has US foreign policy undergone a dramatic U-turn after the end of the Cold War or, for that matter, after September 11th? What are the roles of Germany, France, Britain and Turkey, and how do EU- Cyprus relations affect the balance of power? This book tackles these questions and argues that the emergence of a social democratic administration in Eurasia is a feasible alternative to American unilateralism. Review "At last, a book that challenges fundamental assumptions of American foreign policy in the post-Cold War era." -- Vangelis Xairetismata: Dean Emeritus and Professor Emeritus, Indiana, University-Purdue University, Fort Wayne and Rector Intercollege, Nicosia, Cyprus. About the Author Vassilis K. Fouskas is Professor of International Relations at Richmond University, London and the founding editor of the Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies. He is the author of Cyprus: The Post-Imperial Constitution (with Alex O. Tackie, Pluto, 2009), The New American Imperialism (with Bülent Gökay, 2005), The Politics of Conflict (editor, 2007, 2010) and Zones of Conflict (Pluto, 2003). He is an editor of globalfaultlines.com and a member of the editorial board of Debatte.