The Royal Institute of International Affairs
Chatham House 10 St James's Square London SWIY4LE
Tel: 01-930 2233 Cables: Areopagus London
Patron: Her Majesty the Queen
14th February 1984
Ms Pauline Neville-Jones
Head of Planning Staff
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
LONDON SW1A 2AH
Year Pauline
As I mentioned in my letter of 22nd December, I should like to meet soon to discuss the subjects for the next two policy papers. We have been giving this some thought and I now have a list of seven subjects, listed below in no particular order, which you might like to think about.
1.
2.
Micro-states How far are very small nation states able to maintain an auton- omous existence in political, military and economic terms and, to the extent that they are not, what provision should the international system make for them?
Hong Kong We do not envisage embarking on a study of Hong Kong until an outline agreement on its future has been reached, but if this were to come about quite soon it might be worth doing a study of its implications.
3. Peripheral Countries of Western Europe The purpose would be to consider how
far countries such as Sweden, Switzerland and Austria are free-riders in the context of defence (NATO) or economic (EEC) policy; whether it matters and if so what we should do about it.
4.
5.
u.
7.
The Commonwealth Is the Commonwealth simply a vestige of empire with little more than ceremonial significance, or does it serve useful political and economic purposes, particularly in the context of Britain's relations with developing countries? Could or should it play a more active role?
The Two Germanies Relations between East and West Germany and the position of Berlin. How do they perceive the prospect of reunification? How likely is it to happen, what form would it take, and what would be the effects on Europe /East-West relations?
Turkey Turkey is a country of military and economic importance to the west, yet onge which the west has difficulty in integrating into its security and economic organization. How can we best cope with this?
The Middle East Inter-Arab relations and the Arab-Israeli conflict in the wake of the expulsion of the PLO from Lebanon and the continuing conflict in Lebanon. Relations among the major Arab states, and their relations with external powers: the USA and USSR. British and west European interests and involvement. An alternative emphasis would be to focus on Egypt: its changing position in the Middle East, its links with the USA and western Europe, its economic and political importance to Britain and western Europe.
/continued.....
Chairman Lord Harlech PC KCMG Vice-Chairman Sir Arthur Knight Hon. Treasurer Christopher Stronge Director Admiral Sir James Eberle GCB
Director of Studies Dr William Wallace Administrative Director Eileen Menzies
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