Seeking Security in an Insecure World

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.