The existence of two conditions is imperative for the survival of any military alliance: its members must have the same perception of the threat, and they must share a common strategy for fighting it. The Atlantic Alliance is without a doubt the most successful in history. It does not however meet either of the two aforementioned conditions. The recent efforts to revitalize the Organization are clear. However, with the differences which continue to prevail and with the passage of time, its decline is becoming more and more evident.

If there has been one thing well done regarding the management of the Kosovo crisis, it has been time management. The United States was not in a hurry; it clearly made its move; it reached its objective without too much resistance. Nevertheless, this does not hide the truly relevant fact that NATO’s member states have failed in Kosovo; the intervention has not reached its objectives and now it all comes down to withdrawal of the troops as soon as possible.

Tom Burns is back, which is excellent news. His trilogy of: Conversaciones sobre la Derecha, Conversaciones sobre el Socialismo, y Conversaciones sobre el Rey, is one of the most influential works to deepen the understanding of the Transition period, from dictatorship to constitutional monarchy. The monarchic issue is now at the current political front. Burns has taken on this challenge in his double role as historian and journalist, and he has succeeded with his customary intellectual refinement. Descargar PDF

After three long years in power, Zapatero has succeeded in ruining most of the successes achieved by previous administrations regarding foreign policy. Spain has not only vanished; it has also lost prestige and credibility. In this issue, as in many others, next March’s general elections in Spain will be crucial. It is not only about deciding which party will govern, but also avoiding a course of action that leads to disaster, and forcing the Socialist Party to undergo an in-depth overhaul of its strategy. Descargar PDF

The Summit allowed Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to organize one of his circus numbers at the expense of Spain – in his opinion, the perfect embodiment of the evils devastating the continent. He pursued the confrontation and he succeeded, dragging the king himself into a scenario at odds with his status. What happened has allowed Chávez to keep on being in the headlines and exploiting the incident.

The Iran crisis shows the new French diplomacy in action. Like in the days of Talleyrand, Paris speaks about war in order to give diplomacy a chance. One of the reasons for the failures reaped to date with Iran is that, quite rightly, the ayatollahs have not been taking Europe’s threats seriously. Descargar PDF

When José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero came to power, his approach to foreign policy could be summarised in three sentences: no to war; a return to the heart of Europe; and the opposite of everything Aznar had done. His attitude, his lack of knowledge of the rules of the environment, his obvious contempt for reality, as well as his naïveté and frivolity, ensured that Spain’s status would diminish on the international scene. Descargar PDF

Unfortunately for our ever-smiling Prime Minister, pulling Spain out of its former alliances was not compensated by its entry into any other alliance, either new or old. The Europe to which he so fervently wished to return soon left him in the lurch. For this reason, and because of his childish left-wing tendencies, Zapatero’s policy led Spain to seek alliances with any anti-American leader who crossed his path.

Foreign policy has been an element of division since 1975. Spain's entrance into NATO and the Iraq war set Spaniards at odds like no other issue had ever done before. Those tensions fluctuated. The same socialists that exploited so much the “No to NATO” vote did support subsequently full membership to this organization during Aznar’s tenure.However, nowadays we have reached a point where the fluctuations definitely seem a thing of the past. We are before a divided society with two antagonistic views that would seemingly not converge in the short run.

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