Summary of Discussions and Notes on Recent Developments

Abstract

A number of significant developments has taken place in the Balkans and Eastern Mediterranean since the majority of papers in this volume were written and presented. This introductory chapter seeks first to record the essence of the relevant discussion which took place at the eighth course of the International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts (ISODARCO) held in Venice between 26 August and 5 September 1980. The aim was to delineate the key political and strategic problems of the region. Certain of the subsequent developments through the year 1981 are then reviewed and some resultant reassessments are made. The military coup in Turkey in September 1980 and the election in October 1981 which led to the first Socialist government in Greece have shifted the international perspectives and clearly cannot be ignored. There have also been some alterations in the position and political potential of Albania in relation to its neighbours and more widely.