True, Afghanistan and Iraq deserve much attention as possible centers of terrorism; Latin America also warrants our interest as many countries undergo tumultuous changes. Yet, for all its stability, we may have missed two key developments in European politics.

Few took notice when the entire executive branch of the Netherlands' center-left government resigned in the wake of an internal report that cited Dutch peacekeepers' failure to halt the Srebrenica massacre in Bosnia, 1995.

The prime minister, Wim Kok, said the move was a gesture to atone for the political shortcomings behind the failed mission. Serbians, feeling that the report only confirmed what was already known, cried for further reparations or monetary payments.

Though elections are slated for mid-May with Kok's coalition behind in public opinion polls, the resignation of an entire elected administration is very unordinary. The move was without constitutional precedent and could have plunged an unstable country into anarchy.

Thankfully, the Dutch legislature was able to appoint interim leaders until election day. Certainly this scenario is a peculiarity in a democratic nation.

France, a country finally achieving a degree of stability in post-World War II governance, was shocked earlier this week by the showing of far right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen in the primary presidential elections. The leader of France's National Front, Le Pen has become synonymous with neo-Nazism and anti-Semitism, claiming that the Holocaust was merely a "detail of history."

In finishing second in the primary, narrowly beating the favored socialist Lionel Jospin, Le Pen will face incumbent President Jacques Chirac in the runoff. What makes Le Pen's victory so outrageous is the policy options he wants to bring to French politics. He wants to shut down immigration in an effort to preserve French culture. Le Pen has also played on citizens' fears that immigrants are stealing jobs that rightfully belong to the French. Staunchly against the European Union, he hopes to undermine the efforts that have successfully achieved peace and cooperation on the continent.

It appears highly unlikely that Le Pen will win the runoff election, especially now that all parties in France have thrown support behind Chirac, regardless of political ideology. Even center-right governments such as Spain support Chirac, while British Conservatives call for Le Pen's defeat.

Extremism of this kind is nothing new to the Europeans and has recently made a resurgence. Austrian citizens have been notorious for voting for the extreme right, as evidenced by Jorg Haider's rise several years ago.

Remnants of anti-Semitism still remain in both Germany and France, with recent incidents of burning synagogues and protest marches.

With Europe growing closer together economically and politically, a rise of extremism in one state can severely threaten the entire system.

So while battles rage over territory in the West Bank and President Bush ponders whether or not to invade Iraq, we must remain vigilant over the democracy that has afforded us relative peace and prosperity.