For much of the post-war era, the substance and scope of international security was defined by the parameters of the Cold War. But the end of the Cold War has created a new global context. This book seeks to map out the nature of post-Cold War security by exploring the patterns of international conflict, weighing non-state challenges to security, examining inter-state cooperation in the security field and evaluating the security dynamics of the Asia-Pacific region.

Though it might be impossible to conceive that the Cold War represented a lesser of two evils, the 12 British and Canadian scholars contributing to this volume suggest that international security today looks a little like high noon at the OK Corral. They consider the serious political instabilities, dangerous nationalisms, and border disputes which has been erupting like boils since the end of the Cold War, and track these regional studies through the security problems facing collective global security in a still proliferating nuclear age. Distributed by Ashgate. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

The Cold War may be over, but the United States is still practicing Cold War foreign policies. From the Persian Gulf to El Salvador, from Bosnia to Somalia, U.S. policymakers continue to rely on force, threats, arms, and military aid. A fundamental redefinition of national security–beyond war and militarization, beyond bilateralism, beyond sovereign states–is long overdue. In Security Without War, a dynamic author team lays out new principles and policies for the United States to adopt in a post-Cold War world. Shuman and Harvey encourage Americans to take account of all threats (not just military ones), to emphasize preventing conflicts over winning wars, to enhance every nation's security (including that of its enemies), to favour multilateral approaches over bilateral ones, and to promote greater citizen participation in foreign policy. Throughout, they show how military, political, economic, and environmental security interests are all linked–and how emphasizing one over the others can undermine the nation's safety. Security Without War brings together for the first time the major elements of post-Cold War security thought. The authors show how a new framework for U.S. international relations can enhance U.S.–and indeed, global–security at a substantially lower cost.

Addresses theory and history in considering the possibilities for a new system of collective security

Concentrates on the economic and political aspects of China's security agenda, which have, to a certain extent, been given less prominence in most security studies on China.

The unexpected end of the protracted conflict has been a sobering experience for scholars. No theory had anticipated how the Cold War would be terminated, and none should also be relied upon to explicate its legacy. But instead of relying on preconceived formulas to project past developments, taking a historical perspective to explain their causes and consequences allows one to better understand trends and their long-term significance. The present book takes such perspective, focusing on the evolution of security, its substance as well as its perception, the concurrent development of alliances and other cooperative structures for security, and their effectiveness in managing conflicts. In The Legacy of the Cold War Vojtech Mastny and Zhu Liqun bring together scholars to examine the worldwide effects of the Cold War on international security. Focusing on regions where the Cold War made the most enduring impact―the Euro-Atlantic area and East Asia―historians, political scientists, and international relations scholars explore alliances and other security measures during the Cold War and how they carry over into the twenty-first century.