Despite growing concerns after September 11, 2001, over the global terrorist threat and the spread of weapons of mass destruction, international security no longer hinges only on arms control and the prevention of war. Nonmilitary concerns, including emerging infectious diseases, environmental degradation, demographic trends, and humanitarian catastrophes, also represent significant threats to global stability. In this book, leading analysts offer an overview of critical security dangers facing the world today.
The book looks first at the relationship between weapons and security, discussing such aspects of proliferation as "nuclear entrepreneurship" in Russia and the threat of biological warfare. It then examines nonmilitary security concerns, including resource scarcity, migration, HIV/AIDS in Africa, and why humanitarian assistance sometimes does more harm than good. Finally, it looks at the role of transnational actors, including terrorist groups, nongovernmental organizations, and the privatized military industry.
