Professor Laurence Martin, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, considers the strategic policy of the nuclear age in his series of Reith Lectures 'The Two-Edged Sword'.

In his fourth lecture entitled 'Conflicts of the Third World', Professor Martin explores the East and West scrabble for the Middle East. The grab, which was instigated by the US and the Soviet Union in order to secure their ideologies and resources, places Europe and other nations in a tough strategic position.

Professor Martin evaluates America's request for Western Europe and Japan to reconsider their military abstention from Third World affairs. However the fear of the costs and the reprisals might be the biggest hindrance.