On May 10-12, 1996, more than 300 intellectual and political leaders met at the Congress of Prague. Czech President V clav
Havel welcomed the participants, who came to celebrate the achievements of Western
civilization and to affirm the values on which that civilization is based. The event, which launched the New Atlantic Initiative (NAI), concluded with a declaration of common principles--an eloquent and unapologetic statement of belief in individual liberty, the market economy, and democratic pluralism, which those present were invited to sign. The chapters in this volume derive from the addresses and policy discussions at the congress. Gerald Frost is research director of the New Atlantic Initiative and a consultant director of the Institute for European Defense and Strategic Studies. Lt. Gen. William E. Odom, USA (ret.), is director of national security studies for the Hudson Institute and an adjunct professor at Yale University.
The Congress of Prague is a guide to the issues that will shape what is currently a fluid and uncertain
international order. It explores the means available to persons prepared to act on the conviction of those who organized the congress--that enhancing international stability, raising standards of prosperity, and expanding the sphere of individual liberty depend crucially on rejuvenating the Atlantic partnership