Synopses & Reviews
The twenty-first century has seen millions unemployed. It has seen livelihoods undermined by environmental degradation. Middle-class cities in Europe, Asia, and Africa have become cauldrons of violence and resentment. Tribalism, ethnic nationalism, and religious fundamentalism have flared dangerously, from Russia to Spain. The use of force is unlikely to help. What works when counter-insurgency has run its course: in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and beyond?
In this book, two authors brought together from distant points on the political spectrum by their concerns about the repercussions of violent political conflict on human lives, explain and explore a new idea for stabilizing the dangerous neighborhoods of the world. They challenge head-on Condoleezza Rices declaration that it is not the job of the 82nd Airborne Division to escort kids to kindergarten” contending that, in fact, it should be. When marginalized populations are trapped in poverty and lawlessness and denied political power and justice brutality, and fascism thrive. Human security is a new concept for clarifying what peace requires and the policies and priorities by which to achieve it.
Review
Carroll Bogert, associate director, Human Rights Watch “The much-abused term ‘human security’ gets a full-body makeover in Beebe and Kaldor’s important new book. They start from the premise that it took Gen. Stanley McChrystal and the U.S. armed forces six years to realize in Afghanistan: ousting even a decidedly abusive government will not succeed without robust and genuine protection of the local population’s human rights. Revolutionary, and complicated, and bound to get people in important places arguing.”
H. R. McMaster, Brigadier General, U.S. Army, and author of Dereliction of Duty
“Due to advances in communications and the increasing availability of destructive weapons, it is clear that the security of Western societies is connected to the security of populations where terrorist threats originate. The authors trace the problem of terrorism and other threats to international security to a lack of human security. They argue convincingly that preventing violence requires addressing the conditions that lead to violence. Their argument that a human security paradigm should serve as the basis for policy and strategy is important and is certain to generate valuable discussion and debate.”
General Sir David Richards, Chief of the General Staff, British Armed Force
“I thoroughly commend this important and readable book. Through a stringent analysis of the wars being fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, the authors bring to life the complex inter-dependences and breadth of twenty-first-century conflict. A profound shift in security thinking is needed if we are to avoid past mistakes. This book explains why and provides a roadmap of what it should look like.”
Rory Stewart, Ryan Professor of Human Rights at Harvard University, and author of The Places In Between
“Mary Kaldor is one of the most thoughtful and impressive analysts of conflict and development alive. From the Balkans to Iraq, I have seen her engage with Marsh Arab communists and U.S. military officers and use her tact, intelligence, and humanity to transform our understanding of the most apparently intractable situations.”
Amartya Sen, professor of economics and philosophy at Harvard University and Nobel Prize–winner
“The authors clarify the complex demands of human security, threatened as it is by a great variety of adversities—from disease and penury to violence and tyranny. The book is a significant contribution to a necessary understanding of the human predicament in our time.”
Synopsis
A renowned peace advocate and a career military officer find common ground in a cutting-edge concept that redefines what security means and what security forces should do
About the Author
Mary Kaldor is professor and director of the Centre for the Study of Global Governance, London School of Economics and Political Science. Her books include
The Baroque Arsenal,
The Imaginary War,
New and Old Wars, and
Global Civil Society. She lives in London, England.
Lieutenant Colonel Shannon D. Beebe is currently serving as the Senior Africa Analyst, Office of United States Army Deputy Chief of Staff, Intelligence. A graduate of the United States Military Academy, West Point, NY, he lives in Angola.