• Table of Contents

  • Chapter 1. Realisms
  • Chapter 2. Liberalisms
  • Chapter 3. Constructivisms
  • Chapter 4. Critical Theory
  • Chapter 5. Feminisms
  • Chapter 6. Poststructuralism
  • Chapter 7. Securitization
  • Chapter 8. Postcolonialism
  • Chapter 9. Uncertainty
  • Chapter 10. Great Power Rivalry
  • Chapter 11. Culture
  • Chapter 12. War
  • Chapter 13. Coercion
  • Chapter 14. Peace and Violence
  • Chapter 15. Human Security
  • Chapter 16. The Responsibility to Protect
  • Chapter 17. Development
  • Chapter 18. Alliances
  • Chapter 19. Regional Organizations
  • Chapter 20. The United Nations
  • Chapter 21. Peace Operations
  • Chapter 22. The Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Regime
  • Chapter 23. Private Military and Security Companies
  • Chapter 24. Genocide and Crimes against Humanity
  • Chapter 25. Ethnic Conflict
  • Chapter 26. Terrorism
  • Chapter 27. Counterterrorism
  • Chapter 28. Counterinsurgency
  • Chapter 29. Intelligence
  • Chapter 30. Economic Threats
  • Chapter 31. Transnational Organized Crime
  • Chapter 32. Global Arms Trade
  • Chapter 33. Migration and Refugees
  • Chapter 34. Energy Security
  • Chapter 35. Women, Peace, and Security
  • Chapter 36. Environmental Change
  • Chapter 37. Health
  • Chapter 38. Emerging Technologies
  • Chapter 39. Cybersecurity
  • Chapter 40. Outer Space

An Introduction to Security Studies

Paul D. Williams and Matt McDonald

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Chapter 1

Realisms

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Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the various strands of the realist research tradition and their different approaches to security studies. Although sharing a pessimistic outlook about the continuity of inter-group strife, each realist research programme is rooted in different assumptions and provides different explanations for the causes and consequences of armed conflict. These differences are illustrated with reference to what the contemporary strands of realism anticipate will happen in international politics as China’s power continues to grow.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • Classical realism and variants of structural realism explain interstate war with different emphases on dispositional factors (human nature) and situational ones (the security dilemma). Which of these sources of armed conflict do you find more convincing and why?
  • Defensive realism posits that the world is a relatively safe place. Do you agree with defensive realism’s assessment of the state of international relations? If defensive realists are right, why do wars still occur?
  • Do you agree with offensive structural realists that the best way for states to stay secure is to acquire as much power as possible?
  • Power transition realists generally argue that international political change is the result of differential growth among great powers. Is this dynamic universal, or does it only apply in particular time periods and/or particular places?
  • With its use of domestic-level variables, is neoclassical realism a more powerful approach than other forms of realism, such as offensive or defensive structural realism?
  • Do dynamics such as terrorism and unconventional war render realism irrelevant to the study of modern international security?
  • Drawing on at least two variants of realism, examine whether a war between China and the United States is likely or even inevitable.
  • Drawing on at least two variants of realism, examine the causes of 2022 war in Ukraine.

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 2

Liberalisms

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Cornelia Navari

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the debates concerning security within liberal thought. The first section outlines traditional/Kantian liberalism. The second section introduces liberal economic thought regarding peace and war—the ideas of ‘douce commerce’. The third section describes the democratic peace thesis and reviews the major discussions on the idea that liberal states do not fight wars with other liberal states. The fourth section outlines neoliberal institutionalism and its implications for thinking about security. The last section outlines how liberal thought deals with global transitions and the potential end of American hegemony.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • How far would you say that Kant’s conditions for peace have been achieved in the contemporary world order?
  • Why are liberal democratic states more likely to prefer peace to war?
  • What are the arguments for considering ‘free’ or open trade as the key to peace?
  • Under what conditions will cooperation emerge in a world of egoists without central authority?
  • What is the ‘anarchical condition’, and why do liberal institutionalists insist that liberal states cannot avoid war so long as international relations are in such a condition?
  • How suitable are neoliberal institutional theories for dealing with security issues?
  • In your view, has NATO been successfully transformed into a ‘security community’? 
  • What are the arguments behind the claim that international organizations can help in preserving peace?
  • Is military intervention inevitable in establishing a durable liberal peace?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter3

Constructivisms

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Matt McDonald

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about constructivist approaches to security. Constructivism has become an increasingly prominent theoretical approach to International Relations since its emergence in the 1980s. Focusing on the role of ideational factors and the social construction of world politics, it is perhaps best described as a broader social theory, which then informs the study of security. This chapter draws out key contributions of constructivist thought that have been applied to security studies. It introduces students to the idea that the meanings and practices of security are socially constructed, before examining constructivist concerns with ideational factors such as norms and identity. The chapter then outlines what can be gained through understanding security as the product of processes of negotiation and contestation, and the relationship between agents and structures in the international system as mutually constitutive.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • How useful is constructivism for understanding contemporary security practices and dynamics?
  • What does it mean to think of security as a social construction?
  • To what extent is constructivism an improvement on traditional theories of security?
  • Why is the politics of identity construction so important for constructivism?
  • To what extent do international norms influence state security practice?
  • Is a state’s approach to security the product of conceptions of its history, culture, and identity?
  • Is the meaning of security the product of processes of negotiation and contestation? What does this reveal about security policies?
  • Are agents and structures mutually constituted as Wendt (1992) suggests?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 4

Critical Theory

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Pinar Bilgin

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the critical approach to security studies which draws on the critical theory of Italian political theorist Antonio Gramsci and the Frankfurt School. This approach is also known as the ‘Aberystwyth School’ of security studies. The chapter begins by tracing the origins of critical security studies. It then explores the key concepts of security studies that have been inspired by critical theory, using empirical illustrations from regions such as the Middle East and the Euro-Mediterranean, and issues such as human mobility, nuclear weapons, and ‘state failure’.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What are the core differences between traditional and critical approaches to security?
  • Is security a derivative concept and why is this important?
  • Is it useful to define security as emancipation?
  • What does it mean to say that critical security studies both broadens and deepens the study of security?
  • What are the main consequences of security approaches being statist, state-centric, or both?
  • Should theorists of security be concerned with changing the world for the better?
  • What are the main differences in how the Aberystwyth and Copenhagen School’s of security studies approach the concept of ‘securitization’?
  • How might critical approaches view security practices in the Middle East as promoting insecurity?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 5

Feminisms

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Sandra Whitworth

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about feminist perspectives and the kinds of questions they raise about international security. It also examines some of the empirical research conducted by feminists around questions of security, including work that focuses on the impacts of armed conflict on women, the ways in which women are actors during armed conflict, and the gendered associations of war-planning and foreign policymaking. The chapter suggests that whichever feminist perspective one adopts, greater attention to gender—the prevailing ideas and meanings associated with masculinity and femininity rather than biological differences—enriches our understanding and expectations associated with international security.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What does a focus on gender bring to our understanding of international security dynamics?
  • Where are the women and what are they doing in dominant accounts of security in International Relations?
  • Are some feminist approaches more useful than others for understanding contemporary security dynamics?
  • How are meanings and practices of femininity and masculinity constructed through militarism and armed conflict?
  • War is fought by men, for women (and children). Critically evaluate this claim.
  • In what ways are women and girls targeted in armed conflict? Why?
  • Should women be equally able to join the armed forces and participate in combat? Explain your answer.
  • What insights would a feminist approach provide to the security implications of the COVID-19 pandemic?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 6

Poststructuralism

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Linda Åhäll

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about some basic principles of poststructuralist critique as it relates to security studies. By asking what? where? and how? the chapter captures sights, sites, and insights of poststructuralist interventions in security studies. The first section focuses on sights: on how security is ‘seen’ when we put poststructuralist ‘lenses’ on. This involves analysing discursive power and understanding security as a logic informing violence and war as practice. The second section focuses on sites for security logics. Here, poststructuralist critique is situated within the broader ‘aesthetic turn’ associated with production of knowledge in academic International Relations. The third section explores poststructuralist insights as a way of illustrating what security does. Two examples of security logics informing war are discussed: militarisation and drone warfare. The chapter demonstrates how poststructuralist security studies not only fundamentally challenges what security itself might mean, but also opens up for questioning where, how and with what effects security is practiced.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • How does ‘security’ operate as a discourse constituting fear and insecurity?
  • How does a logic of security function in discourses on migration?
  • What is power? Discuss with reference to two current security issues.
  • How do discourses on terrorism produce a particular terrorist subject-body? What bodies are made invisible?
  • How is visual language political in understandings of security threats?
  • How does the Power/Knowledge nexus work in official memorializations of war? Whose war experiences are remembered/valued and whose are not?

Websites and Audio Visual Resources

Chapter 7

Securitization

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Jonna Nyman

In this chapter, students will learn about the concept and theory of ‘securitization’ and the major debates it has stimulated. Securitization refers to a process whereby issues are presented as security threats and, if relevant audiences accept these representations, emergency measures are enabled to deal with them. An increasingly prominent approach to the study of security in International Relations, it promises a move away from developing an abstract definition of security, instead suggesting the need to explore the process through which security is given meaning in political practice. The chapter summarizes the evolution of securitization theory after the Cold War, introduces the central contributions of the approach, and examines the key debates within and about securitization.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • To what extent do you agree with the Copenhagen School’s claim that security is a ‘speech-act’?
  • How ‘critical’ is securitization theory?
  • Should we securitize climate change? What about COVID-19?
  • Is securitization theory Western-centric?
  • Does securitization theory lack a normative agenda?
  • Is security the opposite of politics?
  • Using an example of your own choosing, what are the implications of securitizing that particular issue?
  • Is securitization theory racist?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 8

Postcolonialism

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Nivi Manchanda

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about postcolonialism as an increasingly prominent theoretical approach to security in International Relations (IR). Focusing on the legacy of empire and the perpetuation of hierarchies between the Global North and South, postcolonialism is best understood as an orientation rather than one coherent theory, or even a cohesive school of thought. Postcolonial thought is inherently interdisciplinary and while there is no postcolonial school of security studies, it nonetheless provides important insights for students of security. This chapter engages postcolonial thought on security issues by focusing on two key moments in its development and the work of key postcolonial thinkers. It highlights both shared assumptions and important differences between proponents while stressing the myriad ways in which postcolonialism can enrich our understanding of security through its sensitivity to questions of colonial legacies, racism, and inequality.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • Define postcolonialism. Can it be considered an IR theory?
  • ‘The security of the ‘self’ always depends on the insecurity of the ‘other’.’ Discuss.
  • ‘The United States is behaving increasingly like a colonial power, especially after 9/11’. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
  • ‘The Russian Federation is behaving like a colonial power’. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
  • Why was Frantz Fanon such an important thinker? Are any of his insights still relevant today?
  • Why do postcolonial scholars call mainstream International Relations ‘Eurocentric’? Do you agree with their assessment?
  • Does the work of Tarak Barkawi or Mohammed Ayoob better capture the contemporary security landscape? Elaborate with examples.
  • What is ‘intersectionality’? How is it relevant to security studies?
  • ‘Postcolonial theory is pessimistic and doesn’t offer concrete proposals to make the world more secure’. Is this an accurate representation of the work of Fanon, Said and Spivak?
  • Are Richter and Montpetit correct in pointing to the racism evident in varied critical approaches to security?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

  • The blog: www.thedisorderofthing.com hosts many critical voices writing on IR and security (amongst other things).
  • The Runnymede Trust (https://www.runnymedetrust.org/) in Britain deals with issues of racism and migration and has interesting research projects that are relevant to this chapter’s topic.
  • The BBC Newsnight’s discussion on the partition of India and Pakistan from 2017 is worth watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1aaYTKuatqM (‘Partition at 70, What’s the Legacy of Empire?’).

Chapter 9

Uncertainty

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Ken Booth and Nicholas J. Wheeler

Abstract

Uncertainty is immanent in all human relations, and nowhere more so—and with such causal significance—as at the international level of world politics. Here, its impacts are particularly evident in relation to the concept of the ‘security dilemma’. This chapter examines the meanings (and misunderstandings) of ‘the security dilemma’, describes its dynamics and practices, and offers illustrations from history, present crises, and future dangers. It is our contention that if Security Studies are to meet the complex and multiple challenges of the 21st century, engagement with the security dilemma analytical toolkit must have a central place.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What is the ‘security dilemma’ in international politics? How has it sometimes been misconceived in the relevant literature?
  • Which, in your view, is the most persuasive of the three main ‘logics’ relating to the security dilemma – the fatalist, mitigator, or transcender? Defend it against the main criticisms likely to be employed by the other logics.
  • Is mistrust the ‘natural’ condition of humanity?
  • Does the condition of the EU and other international organizations suggest that cooperation between nation-states can only go so far?
  • If you described yourself as having a ‘transcender’ attitude to international politics, which of the various approaches to overcoming the dynamics of insecurity offers the most feasible and desirable way ahead?
  • Are there grounds for thinking that the world has never faced a more uncertain future? Or do you think that the conditions promise a future of growing peace and cooperation?
  • How important is the idea of ‘security dilemma contagion’ for thinking about contemporary security issues ranging from terrorism to climate change?
  • To what extent can ‘security dilemma sensibility’ help overcome the most pressing contemporary security problems?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 10

Great Power Rivalry

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Beverley Loke

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about great power rivalry in contemporary world politics. An adversarial relationship characterised by intense competition and mutual threat perceptions, great power rivalry emerges—and indeed is constructed—over material, ideational and positional factors. This chapter outlines the main concepts to contextualise and conceptualise the ‘return’ of great power rivalry in world politics: polarity; balance of power; and power and hegemonic transition. These broader conceptual debates are then applied to contemporary US-China great power rivalry. Four different domains are examined to capture the complex and multidimensional nature of US-China rivalry: strategic competition in the South China Sea; economic and technological competition; grey zone conflict in cyberspace; and institutional rivalry. The chapter concludes by outlining key strategies to stabilise great power rivalry.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • Great power rivalry has returned to international politics’. Do you agree with this statement and what are the implications of your answer?
  • What is the most important domain of contemporary great power competition? Explain your answer with reference to at least two examples.
  • Is a unipolar, bipolar or multipolar international system the most stable, and why?
  • Do you agree that states generally attempt to balance against other powerful states?
  • Is hegemonic transition theory helpful for understanding whether a rising China will confront the US, including via armed conflict?
  • Is war between China and the US inevitable?
  • What are China’s key objectives in the South China Sea? How should the United States respond?
  • Did China conduct a successful global information campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 11

Culture

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Michael N. Barnett

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the complex relationships between culture and security. Culture is present in organizations, societies, states, and global affairs. Culture, like the social world in general, is ubiquitous. The chapter therefore begins by summarizing why security scholars began to think that culture might shape processes of global and national security. It then clarifies what we mean by culture and how we think it matters. Contrasting rational and cultural approaches to security, the chapter examines several important issues: (1) the importance of bureaucratic and organizational culture for understanding security issues such as military doctrine and evolution; (2) strategic culture; and, (3) how organizational and global cultural factors influence peace operations.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What are the alternative ways of thinking about culture? Are some superior to others?
  • Is culture another word for irrationality? Explain your answer with empirical examples.
  • Why is the concept of ‘strategic culture’ important for understanding contemporary security dynamics?
  • What is a military culture? How might it differ from a peacekeeping culture?
  • Would the military culture be different if more women were in positions of power?
  • How do bureaucracies smother personal judgement and promote the organization’s interests? Is this good or bad for national security?  
  • Does it make sense to talk about a culture or many competing strategic cultures? 
  • How can organizations change their culture?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

To what extent has popular culture affected international security dynamics

Chapter 12

War

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Paul D. Williams

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the concept of war and how it continues to evolve in line with the human societies that wage it. The chapter starts by examining different approaches to defining war and distinguishing it from several related activities before summarizing how most human societies developed the habit of warfare. The third section discusses how the character of contemporary warfare has changed with reference to debates about Revolutions in Military Affairs and so-called new and old wars. Finally, the chapter discusses how urban spaces, cyber space, and outer space are becoming increasingly important domains for waging war.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What’s the best way to define war and warfare?
  • Is war natural and inevitable? Are any particular wars inevitable?
  • How should analysts measure organized violence?
  • Is warfare in decline?
  • To what extent is Carl von Clausewitz’s thinking about warfare still relevant today?
  • To what extent has the character of armed conflict changed since the end of the Cold War?
  • Have advances in Artificial Intelligence and robotics produced a Revolution in Military Affairs?
  • Do you agree with Mary Kaldor’s thesis that globalization has generated ‘new wars’?
  • Does cyberwar exist?
  • How important is outer space for contemporary warfare?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 13

Coercion

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Lawrence Freedman and Srinath Raghavan

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about coercion as a distinctive type of strategy, in which the intention is to use threats to put pressure on another actor to do something against their wishes (compellence) or not to do something they had planned to do (deterrence). The chapter considers the different forms coercion can take in terms of the ambition of the objective, the methods used (denial versus punishment) and the capacity of the target for counter-coercion. It also analyses how perceptions of an actor’s strategic environment are formed and the extent to which these perceptions are susceptible to targeted threats as part of another’s coercive strategy.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • How would you describe the main difference between deterrence and compellence? Illustrate with examples.
  • Is deterrence more difficult to accomplish than compellence? Explain your answer with reference to two examples.
  • With reference to a contemporary conflict discuss the alternative costs and benefits of attempting to coerce by means of either denial or punishment.
  • Do you agree that coercion is likely to succeed if A can convince B that the resistance costs exceed the compliance costs. Explain your answer with reference to two examples.
  • What do you think are the main limitations of terrorism as a coercive strategy? What are the main difficulties of deterring terrorism?
  • How important is a negotiating framework and the introduction of inducements to the success of a coercive strategy?
  • How is strategic coercion influenced by multiple audiences rather than solely the opponent?
  • Do you think reputation is an important objective when pursuing a coercive strategy?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

  • Current crises and coercion 
    Coercion has been prominent in discussions of the conflict over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and missile programme.
  • For good materials see this site of John Hopkins US-Korea Institute
    •
  • Articles include William McKinley, ‘Understanding North Korea’s Nuclear Coercion Strategy’, Foreign Affairs (March 2015).
  • Click to view external links
  • Iran
  • For an article using Iran as an example see Robert Jervis, ‘Getting to Yes With Iran: The Challenges of Coercive Diplomacy’, Foreign Affairs, (January/February 2013).
  • Click to view external links

Chapter 14

Peace and Violence

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Helen Dexter

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about two concepts that are central to security studies and yet tend to receive little analysis in their own right: violence and peace. The chapter highlights that both concepts are complex and contested. Rather than try and settle on a definition of either, the chapter is structured around a series of questions that serve to explore the complex nature of violence and peace. Specifically, the chapter asks: What is violence? How do we come to know it? Does violence work as a means of resistance? What does this mean for our understanding of peace? Finally, if there is no fixed definition of violence or peace, what does this mean for security studies?

Essay / Exam Questions

  • Is it fair to say that security studies has neglected violence? Has it also neglected peace?
  • Should violence be understood as the direct use of force, or can it be extended to include structural violence, for example?
  • Although violence is central to security studies, security theorists rarely stop to examine violence as a concept, focusing instead on distinguishing legitimate violence from illegitimate violence. Discuss.
  • Do you agree with the statements ‘violence works’ and ‘violence is inevitable’? Explain the reasoning behind your answer.
  • Is there a positive relationship between an actor’s capability to inflict violence with its military and its level of security?
  • Is it appropriate to define peace simply as the absence of violence? If so, what sort of violence needs to be absent for a person to experience peace?
  • How should ‘peace’ be measured?
  • Is nonviolence a useful form of political struggle? Under what circumstances is it most likely to be effective?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 15

Human Security

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Gunhild Hoogensen Gjørv

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about human security and the status of this concept in policy and research today. Human security was popularized by the UN Development Programme’s 1994 Human Development Report, which promised a revolutionary move in security studies, reorienting the focus on individuals rather than the states. However, this ambition did not come to fruition, at least not as some had hoped. States and international institutions adopted the concept for their own purposes, losing sight of individual, contextualized experiences of insecurity that were often brought about by these same states and institutions. Critics remain divided over the utility of human security but the concept continues to be relevant to state and nonstate actors alike.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What role does human security play in the history of the concept of security?
  • Are the seven categories of human security identified in the 1994 United Nations Development Programme’s report a comprehensive list? Explain your answer.
  • What role do states play in operationalizing human security and how is this role potentially problematic?
  • What does a critical approach to human security bring to the security debate?
  • Who decides the definition of human security, and who should define it?
  • In what ways do gender and feminist security perspectives and human security coincide?
  • What human security concerns are relevant to the Arctic?
  • How fundamental is the challenge of ‘posthumanism’ to the idea of ‘human security’?
  • What implications does the COVID-19 pandemic have for the embrace or pursuit of human security

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 16

The Responsibility to Protect

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Alex J. Bellamy

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the ‘responsibility to protect’ principle, which seeks to rethink the relationship between security, sovereignty, and human rights. It looks at the origins of the principle, the politics behind its adoption by the United Nations (UN) in 2005, subsequent debates at the UN about its implementation, and its role in shaping international responses to major humanitarian crises. Key questions include whether sovereignty should entail the protection of a state’s population, whether states can be persuaded to take responsibility for protecting populations abroad, and what sorts of policies states should adopt in the face of mass atrocities.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What problems was R2P meant to address?
  • Why did world leaders agree to adopt R2P in 2005 despite their commitment to state sovereignty?
  • Are the UN’s three pillars the best way to think about implementing R2P?
  • How, if at all, has the world’s response to mass atrocities changed over time?
  • What are the principal challenges associated with the implementation of R2P?
  • Can genocide and mass atrocities be prevented? If so, how?
  • Is military intervention sometimes a legitimate and effective response to genocide and mass atrocities?
  • What are the main criticisms of R2P, and are they persuasive?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 17

Development

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Danielle Beswick

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn why processes of development are relevant for security studies. It first outlines the historical roots of development and summarizes the ‘Washington Consensus’, which has dominated international approaches to development since the 1980s. It then explains how development challenges have been viewed as major security threats at three broad and interrelated levels: international, state, and individual (human). The chapter then analyses how development and security have been linked in theory and practice. While few dispute the goal of development, its practical pursuit can create or compound insecurity for some of the poorest people in society, increase the likelihood of violent conflict by marginalizing some groups, and provide an environment in which armed groups can access funds and materials, particularly through shadow economies.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What are the implications of approaching development as a security issue?
  • To what extent is it useful to define states as developed or developing?
  • To what extent is security a necessary precondition for development?
  • Using examples, discuss whether processes of development are inherently violent.
  • Using examples, consider whether development and security are mutually reinforcing.
  • What challenges does a ‘development–security nexus’ present for policymakers?
  • What challenges does a ‘development–security nexus’ present for development practitioners?
  • How far is it accurate to claim that a focus on development has transformed security studies?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 18

Alliances

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Sara Bjerg Moller

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about theories of alliance formation and management. After surveying the literature on alliance formation and war, the chapter lays out the challenges involved in adapting alliances over time to suit different geopolitical environments. It then presents a case study on NATO after the Cold War, a period which saw the transatlantic alliance nearly double its membership size and significantly expand its purview and responsibilities. The conclusion discusses how different theoretical frameworks envisage the future of alliances amidst China’s rise.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • How should the term ‘alliance’ be defined? What are the strengths and weaknesses of potential alternative definitions?
  • What is the best explanation of alliance formation? How is it better than the main alternative theories?
  • What opportunities and limitations face states when it comes to the management of alliances?
  • Are alliances more like to deter war or generate armed conflict?
  • What factors and processes may promote alliance persistence?
  • What are the main elements of continuity and change in the NATO alliance since the end of the Cold War?
  • How can we best explain NATO’s persistence since the end of the Cold War? Why might we have expected NATO not to last?
  • What does alliance theory predict about the future of NATO?
  • What explains Sweden and Finland’s stated desire to join NATO?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 19

Regional Organizations

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Louise Fawcett

Abstract

Abstract
In this chapter, students will learn about the role of regional organizations in the provision of international security; the history and development of regionalism in the security sphere; and the evolving relationship between the United Nations (UN) and regional organizations. This chapter considers the conditions behind the growth and expanding remit of regional security projects, and explanations for their success and failure. As the world has become increasingly multipolar and more states seek an active stake in the multilateral system, regional organizations play important though uneven roles in a complex multilateral security architecture.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What explains the growth of regional security organizations?
  • Provide an explanatory analysis of any one regional organization that has achieved particular success in advancing a security agenda.
  • Is security regionalism easier to achieve in some security arenas than others?
  • Is economic regionalism necessary for security regionalism?
  • Are peace operations or non-proliferation well suited to regional cooperation?
  • How influential have regional security organizations been in counterterrorism? Explain their main strengths and weaknesses.
  • What is the relationship between regional security organizations and the United Nations?
  • Do Europe and the North Atlantic area provide the best examples of security regionalism in practice?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 20

The United Nations

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Thomas G. Weiss and Danielle Zach

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the principal organs of the United Nations and their role in maintaining international peace and security, the world body’s primary mandate. It provides an overview of the UN system as well as a short history of its contributions to security studies. It also addresses key threats confronting the globe in the twenty-first century—such as terrorism, mass atrocities, and weapons of mass destruction—and assesses the UN’s capacity to meet these security challenges.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • How many ‘UNs’ are there? Why does it matter?
  • What is the difference between the UN organization and the UN system?
  • What threats to international peace and security did the founders have in mind in 1945, and how have those endured or changed since?
  • What are the most important UN bodies in maintaining international peace and security?
  • What are the UN’s major achievements since 1945?
  • How should the UN be reformed?
  • How should the UN Security Council be reformed?
  • What are the consequences for the UN Security Council of intensified greater power competition?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 21

Peace Operations

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Michael Pugh

Abstract

In this chapter, students can learn about the concepts, policies and practices of peace operations. Peace operations range from small observation and monitoring missions to extensive post-war reconstruction. A shift in the concepts and discourse about peace operations has occurred since the mid-1990s, notably in the UN where the peacekeeping concept originated. Prominent debates include whether peace is enforceable, whether operations can effectively protect civilians, and whether international interventions, including peacebuilding, have been effective. Peace operations can be represented as international responses to armed conflicts that disrupt security and threaten human security needs. An idealist, liberal conception that promotes peace between states and enlightened governance within them has attracted critique, in large measure because peace operations reflect power distributions in the international system, and as a form of crisis management sustain rather than transform the global system.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • Why do states participate in peacekeeping?
  • What are the principles of peacekeeping and the problems associated with ‘peace enforcement’?
  • Are modern peace operations a disciplinary tool for global ordering, reminiscent of the colonial era?
  • How have civil wars complicated the politics and roles of peace operations?
  • Is protecting civilians an impossible but necessary mandate for peacekeepers?
  • Do regional organizations make better peacekeepers than the United Nations?
  • What is ‘partnership peacekeeping’ and why is it important?
  • Explain the gender issues associated with peace operations.
  • How can the UN prevent peacekeepers from abusing local civilians?
  • What is the concept of ‘peacebuilding’ and, with reference to cases, can it be said to work in practice?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 22

The Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Regime

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Waheguru Pal Singh Sidhu

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about three contemporary challenges to the international regime for the disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons as well as efforts to overcome them. The first challenge is posed by states within the existing regime. The second set of challenges comes from states outside the present regime. The third and, perhaps, most formidable challenge comes from nonstate actors. These challenges have generated at least three different approaches: first, efforts to strengthen the traditional multilateral institutional approach anchored in treaty-based regimes; second, to establish non-treaty based multilateral approaches initiated within the UN system; and third, to build a set of ad-hoc, non-institutional, non-conventional approaches outside the UN to address the immediate challenges of proliferation. These approaches have significant consequences for addressing nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in future.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • Is the nuclear taboo getting stronger or weaker? Explain your answer with examples.
  • What is the relationship between disarmament, arms control, non-proliferation and international security?
  • What makes nuclear weapons distinct from other weapons of mass destruction?
  • How has the non-proliferation regime evolved since the end of the Cold War?
  • What are the three approaches being pursued to advance nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation? 
  • Does gender play a role in nuclear disarmament? 
  • What could disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation look like in 25 years?
  • Will the conditions ever prevail for complete nuclear disarmament?
  • Are some nuclear weapon states essential to prevent further proliferation?
  • In the absence of nuclear guarantees, do states have the right to build nuclear weapons to ensure their own security?
  • What are the major nuclear dimensions of the war in Ukraine and why are they important beyond Ukraine?

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Chapter 23

Private Military and Security Companies

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Deborah Avant

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the growth of private security—security allocated through the market. The chapter explains why this development is important for the control of force and outlines a debate over its costs and benefits. It also describes the current market, compares it to other markets for violence in the past, and explains its origins. The chapter encourages students to think about how the market for force poses tradeoffs to the state and nonstate actors that seek to control it and how a market for force challenges some of the central assumptions in security studies.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • Why is private security important for the control of force? Illustrate with three examples.
  • How is today’s market for force similar to markets in the past? How is it different?
  • Why is private security so prevalent today?
  • Can private security be controlled? By whom? 
  • Does the privatization of security undermine state control of violence?
  • Can the privatization of security enhance state control of violence?
  • Does the privatization of security chart new ways by which violence might be collectively controlled?
  • How does private security affect the ability to contain the use of force within political process and social norms?
  • Using material from the chapter predict what the market for force is likely to look like in 10 years.

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Chapter 24

Genocide and Crimes against Humanity

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Adam Jones

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the concepts of ‘genocide’—the destruction of human groups—and the range of atrocities classified as ‘crimes against humanity’. Key modern instances of genocide are described, along with some central debates in the field of genocide studies, and proposals for intervention and prevention. The legal evolution of the related but much broader concept of crimes against humanity is also considered.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • Discuss genocide as a ‘catalysing idea’. What are the origins of the concept, and how has its impact been evident in world politics?
  • Should there be a ‘right’ to conduct humanitarian military intervention to stop cases of genocide?
  • What are some of the obstacles to humanitarian intervention in genocidal outbreaks? Discuss with reference to Bosnia/former Yugoslavia and Rwanda.
  • How do most genocidal campaigns end and what does this tell us about international responses to genocide?
  • Discuss the concept of ‘crimes against humanity’. How does it differ from genocide? What role does it play in international law today?
  • The United Nations Secretary-General has commissioned you to redraft Article 2 of the Genocide Convention. Which changes would you propose in order to make the Convention more effective and inclusive?
  • What are some of the most promising means of genocide prevention, in your view? Discuss measures that can be taken at the international, societal, and personal levels.
  • What effect, if any, has the COVID-19 pandemic had on the likelihood of genocide or effective responses to it?

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Chapter 25

Ethnic Conflict

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Stuart J. Kaufman

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the social construction of ethnic groups across lines of language, race and/or religious affiliation and its role in armed conflict. Most countries are multiethnic, and most ethnic relationships are peaceful. However, some ethnic conflicts become violent, often enough that ethnic wars represent a sizeable fraction of all wars that have occurred in the last century. Ethnic conflicts are most likely to result in serious violence when government is weak; narratives of group identity lead the groups to see each other as hostile; prejudice is widespread; group members fear for the survival of their group; and the competing sides demand political dominance over some disputed territory. Violent ethnic conflicts have important international dimensions: they are often encouraged by hardline émigré groups or foreign powers, they can cause very large flows of refugees across international borders, and they inspire international intervention ranging from diplomatic efforts to military force. While power-sharing and compromise are the internationally preferred formula for resolving ethnic conflicts, in practice most of them end only when one side wins militarily.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • Why do experts disagree about how and why ethnic identities develop?
  • What are the main accounts of the causes of ethnic war, and why do their advocates disagree?
  • How do the causes of ethnic riots differ from the causes of ethnic civil wars?
  • What similarities do you see in the causes of the ethnic wars in Sudan and Yugoslavia?
  • If ethnic conflicts are civil wars, internal to states, why are they important on the international stage?
  • What can outsiders do to try to help peoples in ethnic conflict to settle their differences? How effective are these measures?

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Chapter 26

Terrorism

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Paul Rogers

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the definitional debates surrounding the concept of terrorism and different types of terrorism, notably the difference between state terrorism and sub-state terrorism or terrorism from below. The chapter then analyses trends in state terrorism and sub-state terrorism in the context of other more substantive threats to security. It then examines the main responses to sub-state terrorism and assesses the response to the 9/11 attacks on the United States, the state of the ‘global war on terror’ after more than twenty years, and the likelihood of a reconsideration of the nature of the response.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • How would you define terrorism? Explain your choice.
  • How important is terrorism relative to other threats to international and human security?
  • Why is state terrorism subject to so little academic study?
  • What is the best way to respond to sub-state forms of terrorism?
  • To what extent was the US response to the 9/11 attacks a product of the politics and ideology of the George W. Bush administration in 2001?
  • Critically evaluate the reasons for Tony Blair’s support for the 2003 regime termination in Iraq.
  • What were the origins and aims of the al-Qa’ida movement?
  • Why was the Libyan regime terminated with NATO support in 2011?
  • Relate the origins and early growth of ISIS to the Syrian civil war.

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Chapter 27

Counterterrorism

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Paul R. Pillar

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the different means of combating terrorism by nonstate actors, including dissuading individuals from joining terrorist groups, deterring groups from using terrorism, reducing the capability of terrorist groups, erecting defences against terrorist attacks, and mitigating the effects of attacks. Reducing terrorist capabilities in turn requires the use of several instruments—each with its own strengths and limitations—including diplomacy, intelligence, financial controls, criminal justice systems, and military force. Counterterrorism unavoidably raises difficult and often controversial policy issues, including conflicts with other values such as personal liberty and privacy.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the different offensive counterterrorist tools.
  • Are the measures that have been used to combat the so-called Islamic State applicable to other terrorist groups? Why or why not?
  • What are the uses of military force to counter terrorism, and how have those uses changed over time?
  • What is the role of international institutions in countering terrorism?
  • Discuss the advisability and effectiveness of assassinating terrorist leaders.
  • Discuss the tradeoffs between counterterrorism and the values of liberty and personal privacy. What determines how the balance between them is struck?

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Chapter 28

Counterinsurgency

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Joanna Spear

Abstract

In this chapter students will learn about the theory and practice of counterinsurgency. In contrast to other areas of security studies, counterinsurgency is an issue area where there are many scholar/practitioners, which gives their writings particular immediacy and applicability. In the West, counterinsurgency has gone in and out of fashion since being developed during the colonial era. In the US, counterinsurgency is now out of fashion as politicians seek to avoid long-term military interventions and the US military prioritises planning for major war against high-technology enemies, a mission they always preferred to counterinsurgency. History suggests that while the West may think it is done with counterinsurgency, insurgency is not necessarily done with the West. Moreover, counterinsurgency is currently being violently practiced in parts of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, and also in Ukraine.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What are the central characteristics of insurgencies? How far do they differ across time and place?
  • What roles can the military play in counterinsurgency?
  • Economic factors are more important than ideological factors in counterinsurgency. Critically discuss this statement using relevant examples.
  • What are the best ways to reduce the number of insurgents?
  • What explains the most successful examples of counterinsurgency since 1945?
  • Is winning ‘hearts and minds’ a viable approach to counterinsurgency?
  • What constitutes victory in counterinsurgency?
  • How important are disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programmes in counterinsurgency?
  • What are the key challenges of waging counterinsurgency in cyberspace?

Chapter 29

Intelligence

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Richard J. Aldrich

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about intelligence, a concept which since 9/11 has frequently been in the media spotlight. Little of this coverage has been flattering and a word association game might quickly link intelligence with terms like ‘snooping’, ‘failure’, ‘torture’—even ‘poison’. This chapter introduces students to the competing concepts of intelligence, the arguments over whether its performance can be substantially improved and whether intelligence services stabilize or disrupt the international system. The field is still dominated by an out-dated concept of intelligence as a strategic process designed to avoid surprise and produce refined information for policymakers. This traditional approach fails to capture intelligence activity elsewhere in the wider world, which is more about covert action and regime security. It is also fundamentally unsuited for the 21st century wherein the very idea of intelligence is merging with open-source information, ‘Big Data’, and cybersecurity.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What is the difference between information and intelligence?
  • Does the growth of cyber-espionage mean the era of human spies is largely over?
  • What makes the leader of a state a good consumer of intelligence?
  • Is it reasonable to conclude that 9/11 was an intelligence failure? Explain your answer.
  • How did intelligence fail in the run-up to the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003?
  • In what ways has Western counterterrorism intelligence changed in the last decade?
  • Are Edward Snowden and his journalist allies the new face of intelligence oversight?
  • Do you agree that there should be a Digital Geneva Convention to restrict hacking by states?
  • How far should the United Nations go in creating its own intelligence apparatus?
  • Are privatised intelligence services more of a problem than those owned by states?

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Chapter 30

Economic Threats

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Rollie Lal

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the ways in which economic issues are integral to international security and the different ways in which states and other actors can use economic coercion. Economic forces are constantly changing the world in ways that can threaten human, national, and even global security. After using the war in Ukraine to summarize some of the main ways in which economics and security are connected, the chapter analyzes four key economic issues that now routinely effect national and international security dynamics. They are economic sanctions, globalization, the computerization and mechanization of work, and foreign investment and sovereign wealth funds.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • Do some international economic structures promote international security more than others? Explain your answer using empirical examples.
  • To what extent is the economic structure of energy provision in Europe important for understanding the war in Ukraine (2014-present)?
  • Which type of economic sanctions tend to be most effective at achieving political objectives. Explain your answer with reference to examples.
  • What are the main security implications of intensifying globalization?
  • In what ways is the rise of populism and extremist right-wing movements a security issue for Western states and societies?
  • What are the main security implications of the mechanization and computerization of work?
  • Are global, regional or national supply chains better for promoting national security? Explain your answer with reference to examples.
  • How are foreign direction investment (FDI) and sovereign wealth funds being used as instruments of economic coercion? How effective are they?
  • Why do governments weaponize immigration, and is it an effective form of economic coercion?

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Chapter 31

Transnational Organized Crime

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Phil Williams

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about how transnational organized crime emerged as a threat to national and international security. The chapter defines transnational organized crime then examines its rise, suggesting that its emergence is inextricably linked to globalization and the weakness of states in many parts of the world. The major transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) are subsequently examined, including their diversity, organizational structures, and portfolios of activities, as well as illicit markets. The chapter then examines U.S. and international efforts to combat transnational organized crime, concluding that these measures have fallen far short of what is needed. Finally, it summarizes the impact of COVID-19, suggesting that after initially disrupting smuggling and trafficking the pandemic provided new opportunities for criminal organizations to exploit. Combined with other global trends, transnational organized crime will continue to expand.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What factors best explain the rise of contemporary transnational organized crime?
  • What types of political environments best facilitate organized crime?
  • What is the difference between mafia and organized crime?
  • What kinds of structures do criminal organizations develop?
  • In what ways and for what purposes do transnational criminal organizations use violence and corruption?
  • Is transnational organized crime growing or declining? Explain your answer.
  • What kinds of relationships exist between criminal and terrorist organizations?
  • What are the major criminal markets and why have they become dominant?
  • What evidence do you see of transnational organized crime moving into cyberspace?
  • What impact, if any, will COVID-19 have on transnational organized crime?

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Chapter 32

Global Arms Trade

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Andrew T. H. Tan

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the dynamics of the international arms trade. It examines the key trends in defence spending and the main characteristics of the global arms build-up, such as the increased emphasis on technologically sophisticated weapons systems, greater focus on maritime power, and the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALWs). The chapter also analyses the causes of the arms build-up, such as the rapid development of technology, economic growth, the desire for prestige, corruption and the continued persistence of interstate tensions particularly as a result of the rise of China and the revival of Russia. The chapter ends by assessing international arms control and its major problems and prospects.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What are the central characteristics of today’s global arms trade?
  • What are the most important drivers of the global trade in arms?
  • Give some major examples of the ways arms transfers impact human rights in key countries and regions.
  • Who are the biggest arms-supplying states, by value of arms transferred and types of equipment supplied? Which countries dominate particular regions?
  • What are the biggest arms importing countries and regions? Why?
  • How have the dynamics of the global arms trade changed since the end of the Cold War?
  • How do arms transfers support the defence industrial base of key supplying countries?
  • What have been the key international efforts to control the global arms trade, and how successful have they been?
  • What are the most realistic objectives for international arms control initiatives?
  • How might the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons be limited?

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Chapter 33

Migration and Refugees

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Sita Bali

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn why and how migration has come to be seen as a security issue. It outlines different types of population movements and how states normally deal with them before examining the direct impact migration can have on the security of the state from war, violence, and terrorism. Next, it considers the effect of population movement on security, broadly defined. This will include an assessment of the impact of migration and ethnic minority communities on host state foreign policy, particularly related to the countries of origin of its migrant communities. It then considers the impact of migration on the internal social stability and cohesion of host states.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • To what extent, and in what way does migration present a challenge to the established nation-state?
  • What are the main security implications of climate-related migration?
  • Do you think the concept of ‘climate refugees’ is useful? Explain your answer with reference to examples.
  • Why has migration become a security problem for Western states?
  • In what ways can immigration constitute a security threat to the receiving country?
  • How does immigration affect domestic politics in the host country?
  • How does immigration affect the international relationships of the receiving country?
  • Outline and analyze the seriousness of the security threat posed by immigration to the receiving country.
  • Evaluate the political role of diasporas in international relations, illustrating your arguments with examples. 
  • ‘Fortress Europe’. To what extent is this an accurate description of the evolving common European policy on migration and refugees?

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Chapter 34

Energy Security

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Michael T. Klare

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the meaning of ‘energy security’ and how this concept has evolved over time. During the 1970s and 1980s, the pursuit of ‘energy security’ largely entailed efforts by the Western oil-importing states to ensure their access to Middle Eastern oil and to develop alternative sources of supply. Over time, however, the term has come to encompass other challenges to energy security, such as the vulnerabilities produced by excessive reliance on a single major supplier of energy, as demonstrated by Europe’s excessive reliance on Russian oil and natural gas. Climate change has also altered perceptions of energy security, both by adding new threats to the delivery of vital fuels and by generating contests over access to the specialized minerals, such as cobalt and lithium, needed for green energy production.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What are the various meanings of the term ‘energy security’? How has the meaning of this term changed over time?
  • How is concern over climate change altering the discussion of energy security?
  • How has concern over energy security shaped US policy toward the Persian Gulf region?
  • How has growing energy self-sufficiency in the United States altered US policy toward the Persian Gulf region (if at all)?
  • How has the rise of China (and/or India) altered the global energy security equation?
  • How is China addressing its energy security dilemma? What challenges does this pose for the United States?
  • What role does energy play in the territorial disputes in the South China Sea? In the Eastern Mediterranean? In the Arctic?
  • What, if anything, does the war in Ukraine reveal about the relationship between energy and security?

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Chapter 35

Women, Peace, and Security

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Aisling Swaine

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the women, peace, and security agenda (WPS).
Initially adopted by the UN Security Council in 2000, the WPS agenda now consists of ten resolutions that establish provisions to address gaps in gender-responsive approaches to peace and security, and that seek to advance women’s rights across all aspects of conflict prevention, management, and response. Since its adoption, scholars, policymakers and activists have expanded the reach and impact of the agenda. It is also subject to wide-ranging critique, particularly regarding its implementation by UN member states and the UN system. This chapter provides an overview of the adoption of the WPS agenda and its broad aims and sets out some of the key areas of debate and critique thus far.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • What factors explain the emergence and institutionalization of the Women, Peace, and Security agenda?
  • Critically discuss the relevance and significance of the WPS agenda in respect to approaches to understanding war and peace.
  • Critically discuss the opportunities and challenges presented through the “securitization of women’s rights.”
  • What are the main indicators of progress in implementing the WPS agenda, and to what extent have they been fulfilled?
  • Provide a critical appraisal of the reasons for the gaps in implementation of the WPS agenda.
  • How important are National Action Plans in the implementation of the WPS agenda?
  • How might a Gender, Peace, and Security agenda differ from WPS?
  • Provide an overview of the issue of conflict-related sexual violence in a chosen case study context and a critical overview of how the WPS agenda relates to the way that violence took place in that context.
  • How has the WPS agenda been affected by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic?

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Chapter 36

Environmental Change

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Matt McDonald and Simon Dalby

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the Anthropocene and how humanity has become a force shaping the planetary system with major consequences for the theory and practice of security. It discusses the evolution of debates about the relationship between the environment and security before exploring the idea of the Anthropocene and debates about planetary boundaries. The chapter then focuses specifically on the issue of climate change, noting different discourses of climate security, examining the potential role of climate change in contributing to armed conflict and noting current responses to climate insecurity. We conclude by reflecting on the profound implications that the climate crisis has for the way we think about security, and suggesting the need to shift from protecting what we have to changing who we are.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • Is the Anthropocene a ‘game-changer’ for thinking about global security?
  • What does thinking in terms of Earth system / planetary boundaries mean for the way we approach global security?
  • Is it a good idea to ‘securitize’ climate change?
  • What is the most important referent object for security in the Anthropocene era: humans, nation-states, ecosystems, or future generations of living beings?
  • How should we understand the relationship between climate change and armed conflict?
  • Did climate change play a role in the civil wars in Darfur, Sudan and Syria?
  • Do prominent international security institutions sufficiently recognize the security implications of climate change?
  • How should military organizations adapt in response to climate change?
  • Climate change poses a fundamental challenge to the way we think about security. Discuss.

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Chapter 37

Health

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Jessica Kirk

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn why and how health has been understood as a security issue. It discusses the history and meaning of ‘Global Health Security’ as a concept and analyzes the major issues appearing on this agenda, notably emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases and biological weapons/bioterrorism. The chapter then examines what is involved in approaching the health-security nexus from a human security perspective. Finally, it discusses some critical questions: Whose health security matters most? What health threats are prioritized? And, whether it is a good idea to conceptualize health as a security issue?

Essay / Exam Questions

  • When thinking about the relationship between health and security, whose security should we focus on? Who is the referent object?
  • What are the most important threats to ‘health security’?
  • Does the global health security agenda reflect the concerns of wealthy and powerful states?
  • What is the relationship between scientific knowledge and international politics at the World Health Organization (WHO)?
  • How concerned should we be about the ‘securitization’ of health? What are the principal dangers in linking health and security?
  • What does this debate look like in the COVID-19 era? And beyond?
  • Is HIV/AIDS an example of the ‘successful securitization’ of health?
  • How would you rate the international responses to the Ebola pandemic in West Africa during 2014-16?
  • How likely is it that states will manufacture and deploy biological weapons?
  • How likely is it that nonstate groups will manufacture and deploy biological weapons, perhaps to commit a terrorist attack?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources

Chapter 38

Emerging Technologies

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Paul D. Williams

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the ways in which emerging technologies can influence global security as well as how world politics shapes the type and pace of technological innovation. After summarizing this reciprocal relationship, the chapter examines five important areas where scientific innovation is having major security implications. These clusters of emerging technologies relate to the revolution in digital information and communications technology, Artificial Intelligence, biotechnology, quantum computing, and missile technologies.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • To what extent is technology an autonomous driving force of social change?
  • What are the most important ways in which geopolitics can influence the development of technological innovation?
  • What are the most important ways in which technological innovation can influence geopolitics?
  • What emerging technologies will likely have the most salient impact on global security? Explain your answer.
  • Do you agree with Audrey Cronin’s (2020) “lethal empowerment theory” of technology?
  • How important is technological superiority in the conduct of warfare?
  • How relevant is social media to understanding 21st century warfare?
  • What limitations, if any, should be placed on Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS)?
  • What are the main security implications of A.I. in the military realm?
  • What are the principal security implications of developments in synthetic biology?
  • What applications of quantum technologies—computing, sensors, communications—are most relevant to international security?
  • Are hypersonic weapons a source of instability to existing deterrence frameworks?

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Chapter 39

Cybersecurity

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Rhea Siers

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn how cybersecurity has become a key issue in global security. Once the primary domain of military and intelligence activities, cyber attacks and intrusions have had a broad impact, from the attacks against Georgia and Estonia to Stuxnet to the recent disruptions to operational and information technology. Cyber capabilities are no longer solely the province of states. Nonstate actors, such as criminals, terrorists, and ‘hacktivists’ have adapted cyber power for their own purposes. Private businesses find themselves on the frontline of cyber conflict every day. Rapidly evolving computer technology is a considerable challenge to standard strategies of conflict and deterrence as well as to the creation of norms.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • How would you describe and distinguish between the separate components of Computer Network Operations?
  • How important is the market for ‘zero day exploits’ for understanding cybersecurity challenges?
  • What are the main policy challenges raised by proxy actors operating in cyberspace?
  • How does deterrence theory apply in the cyber domain?
  • What is the major impact of the Tallinn Manuals?
  • What are the key lessons learned from the 2014 SONY attack?
  • What are the greatest challenges in creating international norms in cyber space?
  • Why are the cyber attacks against Estonia considered important events in the history of cyber hostilities?

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Chapter 40

Outer Space

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Cassandra Steer

Abstract

In this chapter, students will learn about the importance of outer space as a strategic domain, for national and international security. Space has become a security domain of equal importance alongside land, sea, air, and cyberspace, because space-based technologies support military activities on Earth and have become so critical to military operations that it has become a contested strategic domain. But outer space is also a domain which forms part of our environmental, economic, and human security. This chapter examines the ways in which we are dependent on space, why a potential conflict extending into space would seriously impact us all, efforts to prevent a conflict and restrain the weaponization of space, as well as the disruptive importance of commercial actors which have now become integral to space security.

Essay / Exam Questions

  • Is outer space really the ‘province of all mankind’?
  • Should the Outer Space Treaty (1967) be revised? Explain your answer.
  • How vulnerable are space systems, and what are the most pressing threats to them?
  • In what ways does the commercialization of space challenge security?
  • What are the main differences between ‘Old Space’ and ‘NewSpace’ and have they made a safe, secure and sustainable domain more or less likely?
  • Will outer space always be militarized?
  • How can the weaponization of outer space best be managed?
  • Will the increase in counter-space capabilities create a ‘security dilemma’ in space? Explain your answer using examples.
  • To what extent can conflict between states over outer space be prevented through communication, collaboration and cooperation?

Websites and Audio-Visual Resources