Global Security

This edited collection explores the fruitfulness of applying an interpretive approach to the study of global security. The interpretive approach concentrates on unpacking the meanings and beliefs of various policy actors, and, crucially, explains those beliefs by locating them in historical traditions and as responses to dilemmas. Interpretivists thereby seek to highlight the contingency, diversity, and contestability of the narratives, expertise, and beliefs that inform political action. The interpretive approach is widespread in the study of governance and public policy, but arguably it has not yet had much impact on security studies. The book therefore deploys the interpretive approach to explore contemporary issues in international security, combining theoretical engagement with good empirical coverage through a novel set of case studies. Bringing together a fresh mix of world renowned and up-and-coming scholars from across the fields of security studies, political theory and international relations, the chapters explore the beliefs, traditions, and dilemmas that have informed security practice on the one hand, and the academic study of security on the other, as well as the connections between them. All contributors look to situate their work against a broader historical background and long-standing traditions, allowing them to take a critical yet historically informed approach to the material.

Artificial Intelligence and Global Security: Future Trends, Threats and Considerations brings a much-needed perspective on the impact of the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in military affairs. Experts forecast that AI will shape future military operations in ways that will revolutionize warfare.

Why do politicians think that war is the answer to terror when military intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Mali, Somalia and elsewhere has made things worse? Why do some conflicts never end? And how is it that practices like beheadings, extra-judicial killings, the bombing of hospitals and schools and sexual slavery are becoming increasingly common? In this book, renowned scholar of war and human security Mary Kaldor introduces the concept of global security cultures in order to explain why we get stuck in particular pathways to security. A global security culture, she explains, involves different combinations of ideas, narratives, rules, people, tools, practices and infrastructure embedded in a specific form of political authority, a set of power relations, that come together to address or engage in large-scale violence. In contrast to the Cold War period, when there was one dominant culture based on military forces and nation-states, nowadays there are competing global security cultures. Defining four main types - geo-politics, new wars, the liberal peace, and the war on terror she investigates how we might identify contradictions, dilemmas and experiments in contemporary security cultures that might ultimately open up new pathways to rescue and safeguard civility in the future.

Fully revised and updated, this fifth edition of Understanding Global Security considers the variety of ways in which peoples’ lives are threatened and / or secured in contemporary global politics. The traditional focus of security studies - war, deterrence and terrorism - are analyzed alongside non-military security issues such as famine, crime, disease, disasters, environmental degradation and human rights abuses to provide a comprehensive survey of how and why people are killed in the contemporary world. Key concepts of International Relations and globalization are defined and explained, prominent political thinkers and activists are profiled in short biographies and the human impact of the various security threats considered graphically illustrated in ‘top ten’ tables. Hence, this textbook introduces students to the full range of security issues in a clear and concise format that is easy to follow. Specific updates include: A refresh of the evolving theoretical literature on security including more analysis of feminist and post-colonial thought Key recent international political developments- such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan - are appraised and incorporated A new section on hybrid warfare is included in Chapter 2, misogynistic terror is profiled in Chapter 3, whilst gun-smuggling and cybercrime are considered in more depth in Chapter 10 Chapter 5 features analysis of the rise of ‘genocide diplomacy’ The rise of private legal challenges to governments for failing to implement commitments to the Paris 2015 Climate Change Accords is reviewed and analysed Greater evaluation of global governance, in the face of populist nationalist challenges to international cooperation, is offered User-friendly and easy to follow, this textbook is designed to make a complex subject accessible to all. Key features include: ‘Top ten tables’ highlighting the most destructive events or forms of death in those areas throughout history Boxed descriptions elaborating key concepts in the fields of security and International Relations ‘Biographical boxes’ of key individuals who have shaped security politics Further reading and websites at the end of each chapter guiding you towards classic texts and the most up-to-date information on the various topics Glossary of political terminology This highly acclaimed and popular academic text will continue to be essential reading for everyone interested in security.

Discusses four principal security threats - state violence, environmental degradation, population displacement, and globalization - and shows that any meaningful interpretation must include both a narrow legal definition and a broader global perspective.

This encyclopedia provides an authoritative guide intended for students of all levels of studies, offering multidisciplinary insight and analysis of over 500 headwords covering the main concepts of Security and Non-traditional Security, and their relation to other scholarly fields and aspects of real-world issues in the contemporary geopolitical world.

Examinies possible futures which is very rare in International Relations, Global Political Economy or Conflict and Peace Research The book makes a case for a novel vision of future global governance One of the first books to systematically provide a political economy analysis of security and securitisation

​This edited collection presents an innovative approach to global security regimes. Employing both conceptual and empirical studies, the volume examines three empirically-oriented sets of cases: weapons of mass destruction, humanitarian disarmament and unconventional threats. The book combines interrogations of the most prominent prohibition/regulatory regimes while covering WMDs, humanitarian issues and other agendas such as drugs, endangered species and cyber security. It will be of interest to academics and researchers in International Relations and Security Studies.