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Let Them Make StatesAuthor(s): Matthias MaassSource: Foreign Policy, No. 117 (Winter, 1999-2000), pp. 169-170Published by: Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, LLCStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1149582 .

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Letters

works and infrastructure in these countries. In its current form, the Euro- pean Police Office, or Europol, is incapable of facing these challenges.

Finally, the legacy of the Ocalan affair should not be understated. Europe's behavior over the last year sent an unequivocal message that it lacks the political will to prosecute high-profile terrorists-in this case Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the PKK. From the American perspec- tive, Germany's reluctance to request Ocalan's extradition from Italy, and Italy's failure to try him, reveal an inability to separate acts of ter- rorism and political violence from legitimate political expression.

With the possible exception of the French, the Europeans' national and regional views of terrorism fundamentally conflict with an American perspective that emphasizes transnational terrorism as a growing threat on a global scale. This clash of worldviews presents an obstacle to transat- lantic cooperation on terrorism as well as other issues. A lethal attack by a transnational group on European interests on the continent-an increasingly likely possibility given the current nature of transnational terrorism-may be the only catalyst that will prod Europeans to shift from a regional to a global focus on the problem of terrorism. Until then, the United States is best suited to play a leadership role.

-John S. Regas Federal Aviation Administration

Arlington, Va.

LET THEM MAKE STATES

To the Editor: In his article, "Too Many Flags" (Fall 1999), Juan Enriquez argues con- vincingly that besides ongoing worldwide democratization, it is primarily economic globalization that has been creating an environment conducive to the creation of new, small states.

However, when Enriquez takes his analysis one step further, arguing that the "diminishing cost of secession" is the leading cause for the creation of new states, he steps on thin ice. A case-in-point is the former Czechoslo- vakia. As Enriquez correctly points out, it clearly was in the Czechs' eco- nomic interests not to resist the dissolution of the state in 1993. He fails, however, to explain why the economic beneficiaries of the former union, the Slovaks, initiated the breakup by declaring their independence.

WINTER 1999-2000 169

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Letters

As Enriquez suggests, the international sysytem's current trend toward more and smaller states is likely to continue. But does this mean that there are, or at least will be, too many flags? If one looks at the historical devel- opment of the present state system since its inception in the 17th century, three developments stand out:

1. The relative stability, both in absolute numbers and with respect to the proportion between small and larger states, from the second half of the 17th century to the first half of the 19th century;

2. The rapid decline, particularly in the number of smaller states, from the middle of the 19th century until well into the 20th century;

3. The rapid increase in the number of small states toward the end of the 20th century.

From these observations, one might draw at least two conclusions. First, throughout the course of history, the international system has contained a higher proportion of small states than it does today. Second, the recent increase in the number of new, small states does not constitute a fundamen- tal change in the world system. Instead, we may be witnessing a re-adjust- ment-a return, in a sense, to the composition of the international system as it existed before the middle of the 19th century. By looking at the num- ber of small states over the longer term, their recent proliferation becomes much less surprising. Too many flags? Probably not.

-Matthias Maass Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy

Concord, Mass.

AIR APPARENT

To the Editor: As an airman who flew 20 combat missions during Allied Force and who has experience planning air campaigns, I think Ivo Daalder and Michael O'Hanlon missed a few key points in "Unlearning the Lessons of Kosovo" (Fall 1999). NATO won! While NATO leaders may have miscalculated the time and effort necessary, they quickly modified their expectations and were unwavering in their five demands to end the bombing. Slobodan Milosevic complied with every NATO demand.

While air power alone didn't work, NATO'S air campaign was the most important factor in this outcome. Although constrained at

170 FOREIGN POLICY

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