Posted on November 15, 2001 at 11:35 a.m.

STORY:

While the war in Afghanistan has received political support from NATO countries, their citizens are less supportive, says University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) international affairs expert, Nikolaos Zahariadis, Ph.D.

WHO:

Nikolaos Zahariadis, Ph.D., is an associate professor of political science and director of the political science program in the UAB Department of Government and Public Service. He has published extensively in the areas of European public policy, political economy, foreign aid, and nationalism and security in Southeastern Europe. Zahariadis also is an executive board member of the Gulf States Committee of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.

WHAT:

“French President Jacques Chirac is reluctant to even call it a war.” That’s because Chirac, a Gaullist, faces an upcoming election against Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, a socialist who’s building a coalition with the Green Party and ex-communists who oppose sending troops. Also, 70 percent of the 5 million Muslims who live in France oppose the war. Germany’s chancellor pledged troops, but a recently passed law only allows Germany to send troops within its sphere of influence. “Sending troops to Afghanistan is a totally different ball game … and the debate is likely to become acrimonious. In Greece, 80 percent oppose the war.”

CALL:

For interviews, call Gail Short, UAB Media Relations, (205) 934-8931 or e-mail at gshort@uab.edu.

BACKGROUND:

Zahariadis has had articles published in Markets, States, and Public Policy: Privatization in Britain and France (Michigan, 1995) and articles in Comparative Politics, Comparative Political Studies, International Studies Quarterly, and other journals.