Security and Politics in South Africa


Book Description

Exploring how the region is changing today - as transnational solidarity and a single regional economy remove the distinctions between national and international politics - he asks whether South African domination can finally be overcome and considers what sort of cosmopolitan political arrangement will be appropriate for southern Africa in the new century."--BOOK JACKET.




Globalization and Environmental Challenges


Book Description

Put quite simply, the twin impacts of globalization and environmental degradation pose new security dangers and concerns. In this new work on global security thinking, 91 authors from five continents and many disciplines, from science and practice, assess the worldwide reassessment of the meaning of security triggered by the end of the Cold War and globalization, as well as the multifarious impacts of global environmental change in the early 21st century.




The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Regionalism


Book Description

The Oxford Handbook of Comparative Regionalism - the first of its kind - offers a systematic and wide-ranging survey of the scholarship on regionalism, regionalization, and regional governance. Unpacking the major debates, leading authors of the field synthesize the state of the art, provide a guide to the comparative study of regionalism, and identify future avenues of research. Twenty-seven chapters review the theoretical and empirical scholarship with regard to the emergence of regionalism, the institutional design of regional organizations and issue-specific governance, as well as the effects of regionalism and its relationship with processes of regionalization. The authors explore theories of cooperation, integration, and diffusion explaining the rise and the different forms of regionalism. The handbook also discusses the state of the art on the world regions: North America, Latin America, Europe, Eurasia, Asia, North Africa and the Middle East, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Various chapters survey the literature on regional governance in major issue areas such as security and peace, trade and finance, environment, migration, social and gender policies, as well as democracy and human rights. Finally, the handbook engages in cross-regional comparisons with regard to institutional design, dispute settlement, identities and communities, legitimacy and democracy, as well as inter- and transregionalism.




Rewiring Regional Security in a Fragmented World


Book Description

Rewiring Regional Security in a Fragmented World examines conflict management capacities and gaps regionally and globally, and assesses whether regions--through their regional organizations or through loose coalitions of states, regional bodies, and non-official actors--are able to address an array of new and emerging security threats.




Regions and Powers


Book Description

This book develops the idea that since decolonisation, regional patterns of security have become more prominent in international politics. The authors combine an operational theory of regional security with an empirical application across the whole of the international system. Individual chapters cover Africa, the Balkans, CIS Europe, East Asia, EU Europe, the Middle East, North America, South America, and South Asia. The main focus is on the post-Cold War period, but the history of each regional security complex is traced back to its beginnings. By relating the regional dynamics of security to current debates about the global power structure, the authors unfold a distinctive interpretation of post-Cold War international security, avoiding both the extreme oversimplifications of the unipolar view, and the extreme deterritorialisations of many globalist visions of a new world disorder. Their framework brings out the radical diversity of security dynamics in different parts of the world.




Comparative Regional Security Governance


Book Description

This book seeks to understand the role of regions in the provision of security (and insecurity) practices across the globe. Specialists with expertise in the regions they examine present eight case studies and analyses of the Americas, Africa and the Middle East, South and East Asia, and Europe. Discussing both The State and people in the context of security, this book examines four categories; inter-state security, transnational criminal practices (the drugs trade, human trafficking migration), proliferation issues (both nuclear and non-nuclear), and issues of domestic/state collapse. The book uses an inclusive definition of security to include traditional and non-traditional conceptions, and incorporates the use of force and the threat of the use of force, as well as issues related to the integrity of peoples. The chapters weave theory and case studies to provide a rich description of a variety of regional governance forms; and, where applicable, the absence of them to move beyond regionalism to consider the key determining features of regional governance. Comparative Regional Security Governance will be of interest to students and scholars of international security, international relations and governance.




Regional Security and Global Governance


Book Description

A compelling study of the interaction between regional agencies and the UN Security Council that includes a proposal for a regional-global security mechanism, which should be of interest to policy makers worldwide. This ground-breaking exploration into how peace and security might best be attained in the 21st century, its central message is the importance of realizing UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's vision of a "regional-global security mechanism" within the next decade. The book reviews the historical tussle between universalism and regionalism as the cornerstone of international security over the past century, culminating in the "new regionalism" that has characterised international relations in recent decades. The complexities of contemporary regional, sub-regional and other organizations, blessed and burdened with overlapping membership, evolving mandates, and even shifting "focal areas" are analysed. The "multidimensional phenomenon" of regional security is explored--cultural, political and legal--with a view to understanding how regional organizations work today. This book is one of those rare offerings--a policy-oriented prescription for peace and security that is based on factual analysis and creative reasoning. It is a must for national diplomats, regional officials, and international civil servants.




The Security Governance of Regional Organizations


Book Description

The Security Governance of Regional Organizations assesses the effectiveness of regional organizations as regional or global security providers, and examines how policy preferences, resources, capabilities, institutional mechanisms and economic and political cohesion link with collective action behaviour in four security policy functions. It investigates how regional organizations meet the new security threats or respond to strategic geopolitical changes and what adaptations they make in the process. Divided into three parts and using a common analytical framework, the book explains the changing security agenda in ten key regional organizations, each organizational chapter: identifies the nature of threats within the region examines the historical development and the degree of institutionalization assesses the level of governance explores the context of interaction investigates the compliance with the norms of the system of governance. This collection contributes to the ongoing reconceptualization of security and definition of security governance, and explores whether regional security governance processes are unique or similar and whether some organizational experiences can be seen as models for others to follow. It combines a coherent theoretical framework with strong comparative case studies, making it ideal reading for all students of security studies.




Security Politics in the Asia-Pacific


Book Description

Asia is experiencing major changes in its security relations. This book brings together respected experts to assess both the theoretical and empirical dimensions of the Asian security debate. Building on the latest research on Asia's regional security politics, it focuses on the 'regional-global nexus' as a way to understand the dynamics of Asian security politics and its intersection with global security. Contributors to the volume offer diverse but complementary perspectives on which issues and factors are most important in explaining how security politics in Asia can be interpreted at both the regional and global levels of analysis. Issues addressed include power balancing and alliances, governance and democracy, maritime and energy security, the relationship between economics and security, 'human security', terrorism, nuclear non-proliferation, climate change and pandemics. This work will serve as a standard reference on the evolution of key issues in Asian security.




Regionalism and Regional Security in South Asia


Book Description

Zahid Shahab Ahmed evaluates the progress of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). This study goes beyond economic integration to present a detailed appraisal of cooperation under the overarching themes of economic cooperation, environmental security, human welfare, and cooperation in security matters. According to the author, SAARC is making progress in addressing the myriad of issues on its agenda. The transition from agreements to actions and frequent interactions among the member states has boosted confidence. The progress of SAARC is more evident in the less controversial areas of human security, such as poverty alleviation, health and safety, human resources development, and higher education. Notwithstanding enthusiastic commitments reflected in agreements and action plans, there is a gulf between rhetoric and implementation most notably in sensitive areas relating to traditional security. In the light of the findings of this study, the author proposes that greater cooperation in common human security areas has a potential to pave the way for a cooperation on issues of a ’contentious’ nature, particularly terrorism.