the British Empire in
1901. It was able to take advantage of its natural resources to
rapidly develop its agricultural and manufacturing industries and to
make a major contribution to the British effort in World Wars I and
II. Long-term concerns include pollution, particularly depletion of
the ozone layer, and management and conservation of coastal areas,
especially the Great Barrier Reef. A referendum to change
Australia's status, from a commonwealth headed by the British
monarch to an independent republic, was defeated in 1999.

Austria:
Once the center of power for the large Austro-Hungarian
Empire, Austria was reduced to a small republic after its defeat in
World War I. Following annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938 and
subsequent occupation by the victorious Allies, Austria's 1955 State
Treaty declared the country "permanently neutral" as a condition of
Soviet military withdrawal. Neutrality, once ingrained as part of
the Austrian cultural identity, has been called into question since
the Soviet collapse of 1991 and Austria's increasingly prominent
role in European affairs. A prosperous country, Austria joined the
European Union in 1995 and the euro monetary system in 1999.

Azerbaijan:
Azerbaijan - a nation of Turkic Muslims - has been an
independent republic since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Despite a cease-fire, in place since 1994, Azerbaijan has yet to
resolve its conflict with Armenia over the Azerbaijani
Nagorno-Karabakh enclave (largely Armenian populated). Azerbaijan
has lost almost 20% of its territory and must support some 750,000
refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) as a result of the
conflict. Corruption is ubiquitous and the promise of widespread
wealth from Azerbaijan's undeveloped petroleum resources remains
largely unfulfilled.

Bahamas, The:
Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The
Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and
investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a
major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments
to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants
into the US.

Bahrain:
Bahrain's small size and central location among Persian
Gulf countries require it to play a delicate balancing act in
foreign affairs among its larger neighbors. Possessing minimal oil
reserves, Bahrain has turn