This thoroughly updated edition of Global Security in the Twenty-First Century offers a balanced introduction to contemporary security dilemmas throughout the world. Sean Kay assesses the impact of the global economic crisis on international security and considers how the range of thinking about power and peace has evolved in relation to major flashpoints including in the Middle East, Asia, and Eurasia. Kay builds on the first and second edition’s emphasis on the roles of trade and technology, the militarization of space, the privatization of security, the use of sanctions, ethnic conflict, and transnational crime. This edition goes even farther to incorporate traditional thinking about national security in the context of human rights, democracy, population, health, environment, energy, and especially education. The author includes full updates on emerging challenges out of Iraq, Russia, and viral diseases in the context of larger strategic questions like the rise of China and America’s “pivot” to rebalance its priorities toward Asia. Writing in an engaging style, Kay integrates traditional and emerging challenges in one easily accessible study that gives readers the tools they need to develop a thoughtful and nuanced understanding of global security.
Sean Kay is Robson Professor of Politics and Government at Ohio Wesleyan University, where he is also director of the Arneson Institute for Practical Politics and chair of the International Studies Program. He is also an associate of the Mershon Center for International Security Studies at the Ohio State University and a fellow at the Eisenhower Institute in Washington, D.C.
ContentsPreface1. Dynamics of Global SecurityGlobalization of SecurityThe New Distribution of PowerThe Nation-StateSoft PowerAsymmetric PowerThe Power of NatureOverview of the BookSuggested Reading2. The Quest for PowerThe Traditions of RealismThe Security Dilemma and Incentives for WarMisperception, Coercion, and CredibilityOffensive RealismThe Realist Path to SecurityDeterrenceAlliances and ConcertsHegemonic Stability and Offshore BalancingRealism RevisedGlobal SecurityPrimacy and the New BalancingAlliances, Dissuasion, and Strategic PartnershipsAsymmetric Threats, Ethnic Conflict, and Identity RealismClash of CivilizationsEconomic RealismRealists as OptimistsSummarySuggested Reading3. The Search for PeaceLiberalismNeoliberal InstitutionalismCooperative SecurityPeace through CommerceDemocratic Peace and Security CommunitiesEmerging Security ParadigmsConstructivismTransnational Civil SocietyPacifism and Peace MovementsPostmodernismFeminism and GenderRevolutionary ApproachesSummary Suggested Reading4. Great Powers and Grand StrategyThe United StatesRussiaChinaThe European UnionSummarySuggested Reading5. Regional Flash PointsIndia and PakistanThe Balance of Power and Nuclear WeaponsLimited DeterrenceNuclear DangersThe Korean PeninsulaThe North Korean ThreatThe Nuclear EnvironmentAverting Conflict—or a Nuclear Chain Reaction?TaiwanOne China or Two?Unconventional War and Strategic ConsequencesTaiwan’s Security DilemmaInterdependence and the Case against WarThe Persian Gulf and the Middle EastAmerican Primacy and the Iraq ConundrumIran, Israel, and the Geopolitical BalanceThe Saudi QuestionAn Uncertain FutureEurasiaRussian Hegemony and BalancingGreat Power AlignmentsBeyond the Status QuoSummary Suggested Reading6. Technology and the Business of SecurityRevolution in Military AffairsThe Limits of Technology in WarFrom Science Fiction to Modern WarThe Dilemma of Advanced TechnologyInformation and SecurityInformation PowerKnowledge and PowerThe Military Use of SpaceSpacepowerSpace DominanceThe Space RaceStrategic Dilemmas in Space: Missile Defense and Antisatellite WeaponsThe Business of SecurityThe A. Q. Khan Nuclear Shopping CenterSecurity PrivatizationPrivate Security CompaniesOutsourcing WarThe New Agenda SettersSanctioning SecurityThe Sanctions DilemmaAre Sanctions Better Than Nothing?SummarySuggested Reading7. Asymmetric ConflictStrategy and Tactics of Asymmetric ConflictGenocide and Ethnic CleansingThe BalkansRwandaNever Again?Terrorism and InsurgencyThe Meaning and Use of TerrorThe Evolution of Modern TerrorismAl QaedaThe Globalization of TerrorTerrorism and Weapons of Mass DestructionDefensive DilemmasSummarySuggested Reading8. Human SecurityWhat is Human Security?Human Rights and DemocracyContemporary Challenges to Human RightsDegrees of DemocracyPopulation and Demographic ChangePopulation Trends and Demographic DevelopmentsMigration and RefugeesFood and HealthThe Human Costs of WarThe Impact of War on IndividualsThe Social Effects of WarThe Impact of War on the EnvironmentSummarySuggested Reading9. The Environment and Energy SecurityWhat is Environmental Security?The Environment as a Source of ConflictAn Evolving Environmental Security ParadigmBeyond Environmental SecurityConceptualizing Energy SecuritySecurity Energy Resources and FlowsEconomic Development and Energy SecurityEnvironmental DangersClimate ChangeDeforestation and Land UseWater SecurityEnergy Scarcity and SafetyNuclear EnergySummarySuggested Reading10. Meeting the Challenges of Power and PeaceApplying Global Security ConceptsThe Quest for PowerThe Search for PeaceFrom Theory to Practice: Education and Global SecurityEducation and Global SecurityEducation and National PowerEducation in Peace and ConflictWhat Can You Do?ConclusionSuggested Reading
Writing in an engaging style, Kay integrates traditional and emerging challenges in one easily accessible study that gives readers the tools they need to develop a thoughtful and nuanced understanding of global security.