Since the end of the Cold War, NATO (and particularly its Southern Region) has come to focus much more on Mediterranean problems. To what extent is there a ‘threat from the South'? In the past NATO saw this primarily as a Soviet military threat. Despite the collapse of the Soviet Union, concern about the South has grown, fuelled initially by the Gulf War. The ‘threat’ today comes from the economic and social problems of the southern Mediterranean and Middle East. Increasingly NATO is trying to work for stability beyond its borders. The Alliance has its own Mediterranean Initiative which seeks to develop a security dialogue with non‐member riparian states. However, sensitive political issues have tended to be excluded from this dialogue. NATO still has to define a precise role in the area, in order to avoid duplication with parallel initiatives taken by the WEU, EU and OSCE.