Seeking Security in an Insecure World
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
2nd Edition
Published on 10. June 2011
Book
Hardback
330 pages
978-1-4422-0803-2 (ISBN)
Description
Now in a thoroughly updated edition, this comprehensive yet concise introduction to international security explores the constantly changing conditions that lead to an insecure world. The text offers a broad overview of both traditional and "new" conceptions of security. With clear and lively prose, compelling examples, and solid scholarship, it engages both students of international relations and general readers who wish to gain a better understanding of what security means today and how it can best be achieved.
Reviews / Votes
In this second edition of their well-received survey (1st ed., CH, Dec'06, 44-2361), Caldwell and Williams (both, Pepperdine Univ.) offer an exceptional overview of international security challenges and the status of threats to both states and individuals. Seeking Security in an Insecure World is a sober reminder that while the threat of interstate war has severely diminished in the developed world, developing nations remain plagued by political instability, civil wars, crime, infectious diseases, and persistent environmental challenges. The transnational nature of these problems has led to a progressive securitization of issues not previously perceived as part of a dynamic threat environment, and necessitates that state-centered security paradigms give way to new realities-including the fact that human security is very often threatened by the very states responsible for its assurance. This updated book is a measured and comprehensive appraisal of the contemporary security environment. While the authors offer advice and suggestions for policy moving forward, the level of insecurity presented as endemic to 21st-century geopolitics is such that it leaves the reader intellectually challenged yet highly concerned about the prospects for international security in the near term. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership levels. CHOICE Dan Caldwell and Robert Williams have written a superb survey on threats to international security and how public policies can ameliorate or exacerbate them. This is a thoughtful, wise, and accessible book. -- Michael Krepon, co-founder, the Stimson Center, Washington, D.C.More details
Edition
2nd Revised edition
Language
English
Place of publication
United States
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Target group
College/higher education
Edition type
Revised edition
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 163 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
667 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4422-0803-2 (9781442208032)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Dan Caldwell is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at Pepperdine University. Robert E. Williams Jr. is associate professor of political science at Pepperdine University.
Content
Part I: The Meaning of Security Today Part II: Traditional Sources of Insecurity Chapter 1: Conventional Weapons and War Chapter 2: Nuclear Weapons, Deterrence, and Arms Control Chapter 3: Chemical and Biological Weapons Chapter 4: The Terrorist Threat Chapter 5: The Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction Part III: New Sources of Insecurity Chapter 6: Infectious Disease and Health Insecurity Chapter 7: Transnational Criminal Organizations and Trafficking Chapter 8: Insecurity in Cyberspace Part IV: Political and Social Conditions of Insecurity Chapter 9: The State of the State (I): The Transformation of National Security Chapter 10: The State of the State (II): The Rise of Human Security Chapter 11: The Root of All Evil? The Matter of Economic Security Chapter 12: The Environment and Security Chapter 13: Seeking Security in an Insecure World Selected Bibliography