Mutual perceptions of Western and Islamic countries have been clouded through the centuries by conflicting interests with regard to religion, land, trade routes and, more recently, oil.

These inherited suspicions have been fuelled by the strategic interventions of the old imperial powers and the Cold War super-powers, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Iranian revolution and other popular protests against secular regimes.

To what extent are the mutual perceptions of Western and Islamic countries out-dated, erroneous or distorted by over- simplification and caricature?

How does the growth of Muslim communities within Western societies affect mutual perceptions? Can a better mutual tolerance be developed, along with fruitful cultural and economic relations, or must there be a continuing clash of interests, or even, as Samuel Huntington has argued, "a clash of civilizations"?

Back to Top

The collapse of Yugoslavia and the Bosnian war shattered post-Cold War optimism by reminding Europe of the deadly potential of nationalist and religious antagonisms.

The seeds of further conflict are scattered across the continent. This conference will examine the kind of ethnic or religious strife which gives rise to widespread violence and will attempt to identify warning indicators.

It will examine the options open to the international community and other outside parties in the face of such threats, including direct armed intervention, preventative deployment, or letting the fire burn out despite the human cost; and also post-conflict questions such as the maintenance of peace once restored, including the future role of peace- keeping, and the rebuilding of trust between communities.

There would appear to be a growing need to adapt current international mechanisms in these areas, which were designed for :

• the stable environment of the Cold War and based on the rationalist precepts of
• the Enlightenment, to the challenges of combatants whose
• ultimate moral authority resides in tribe or faith.

  
  Back to Top

Departing from our usual conference format, this study tour will give first hand experience of South Africa and its astonishing transformation, now that initial reconstruction is underway and longer term problems and prospects are becoming clearer.

The tour will end in Namibia where there is earlier experience of such change, albeit on a smaller scale, and where the group will be joined by the Hon. Nahas Angula, Minister of Higher Education and a Fellow of the Trust.

A particular focus for study throughout will be where the balance should be struck between economic exigencies and political and social necessities.

This should be of interest to those concerned with a range of development issues, as well as those intrigued by Southern Africa specifically.

At every stage of the tour there will be pre-arranged meetings with prominent figures in politics and government, industry and commerce, rural development, and academic analysis.

Site visits will include townships, rural settlements and development projects. There will also be sight-seeing trips to the Umfolozi Game Reserve, Museum Africa, the Valley of a Thousand Hills near Durban and the magnificent surroundings of Cape Town.

Liberal democracy is now the prevalent constitutional model over much of the globe.

Even regimes which reject this model usually acknowledge, if not always sincerely, that legitimacy derives from the popular will.

The adaptation of most areas of government to democratic accountability has been relatively straightforward, but foreign policy has remained a partial exception, with electorates often prepared to accept a degree of secrecy in its formulation and operation. Strong arguments exist for this.

Woodrow Wilson's call for open covenants openly arrived at, while an admirable principle for the negotiation of multinational instruments, is unrealistic where important national interests are at stake; public debate on foreign policy questions, both at and between elections, is liable to be prejudicial to good relations with other states; and the members of an elected assembly are unlikely to have much expertise in foreign affairs.

On the other hand, it seems illogical, if not dangerous, that in a democracy foreign policy should be conducted with relatively little reference to a legislature, let alone the electorate.

The conference will examine questions arising from this tension, such as how government contrives to balance popular interest against the need for discretion and compromise in diplomacy; how domestic pressures affect the conduct of foreign policy; how far such pressures should properly be resisted; and what degree of secrecy is appropriate in foreign policy.

The last fifteen years have seen a revolution in the media industry. New technology and, in some countries, the defeat of unions have led to sweeping changes in management style and a much sharper edge in competition amongst titles.

With innovation proceeding at breakneck speed in electronic communications - satellite, cable, the Internet - this is seen as all part of "The Information Age" providers, driven on by competition and ever expanding opportunities, will give the public access to information of unprecedented diversity and quantity.

However, there is also concern that a small number of business conglomerates will make the competition so cut-throat that information will be replicated rather than diversified and that choice amongst masses of almost identical sources will be illusory.

It is argued that the public interest will suffer as journalists are over-stretched now that down-sizing is taking its toll, and editors are concerned solely about tomorrow's headlines rather than in-depth reporting or investigative journalism.

Will we as decision takers, voters, concerned citizens be better or less well informed in the 21st century?

We are grateful to the Freedom Forum European Centre for making available their premises for this meeting.