Comprehensive Security In Asia

The term comprehensive security goes beyond simplifications such as us and them; it accounts for all aspects vital to national stability; food, energy, environment, communication and social security. Confidence building methods, preventive diplomacy, energy security, second order cybernetics, transparancy of financial markets are all means to enhance overall stability. Comprehensive Security has become a concept particularly suited for a continent with many powerful countries. An important contribution to one of the key issues of contemporary (Asian) politics.

Security studies in the twenty-first century entail a paradigm shift from the traditional concerns of national defense (military security) to other dimensions, namely the economic, environmental, and human security of nations. After September 11, the traditional notion of security takes on an anti-terrorist connotation, giving a new salience to homeland security. This study is a coherent explication of comprehensive security in the above-named dimensions.

Edited papers from the Comprehensive Security Working Group meeting in Wellington, N.Z., in March 1995.

This book traces changes in the concept of security in Asia from realist to cooperative, comprehensive, and human security approaches, and assesses a number of policy alternatives to management of both old and new security threats. It surveys not only orthodox security threats such as tensions between regional powers or armed ethnic antagonists but also new sources of anxiety such as resource scarcity, economic instability, irregular migration, community fragmentation, and international terrorism. Security policies of major powers such as China, Japan, and the United States, and the moderating roles of regional organizations such as ASEAN, ARF, SCO, and KEDO are evaluated in historical and contemporary perspectives. Contributors proffer policy-relevant insights where appropriate. The book concludes that traditional security approaches remain valid but need to be adapted to the new challenges, and offers suggestions for incorporating fresh Asian security perceptions into the agendas of policy-makers, analysts, and scholars.

It Was Presumed That After The Collapse Of The Soviet Union And The Subsequent End Of The Cold War; Conflicts And Discords Would Cease In The International Arena And A New Era Of Peace, Stability And Prosperity Would Begin. However, The Last Decade Has Witnessed An Unprecedented Rise In Inter And Intra-State Conflicts And A Phenomenal Growth In Violence Centring Around Ethnicity, Religion And Separatism. Moreover, Crisis Stemming From Refugee Flows, Malgovernance, Economic Downturn, Environmental Degradation, Etc., Has Posed Additional Problems In Safeguarding Human Freedom And Security. In This Insightful Volume, Eighteen Well Known South Asian Authors Dwell On A Range Of Issues Disturbing Statesecurity, Bilateral Relations And Regional Harmony In South Asia And Suggest A Range Of Propositions For A Subcontinent Free From Tension And Hostility.