Understanding Global Security

by Peter Hough

Overview

Fully revised and updated, this fifth edition of Understanding Global Security considers the variety of ways in which peoples’ lives are threatened and / or secured in contemporary global politics. The traditional focus of security studies - war, deterrence and terrorism - are analyzed alongside non-military security issues such as famine, crime, disease, disasters, environmental degradation and human rights abuses to provide a comprehensive survey of how and why people are killed in the contemporary world. Key concepts of International Relations and globalization are defined and explained, prominent political thinkers and activists are profiled in short biographies and the human impact of the various security threats considered graphically illustrated in ‘top ten’ tables. Hence, this textbook introduces students to the full range of security issues in a clear and concise format that is easy to follow.

Specific updates include:

• A refresh of the evolving theoretical literature on security including more analysis of feminist and post-colonial thought
• Key recent international political developments- such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan - are appraised and incorporated
• A new section on hybrid warfare is included in Chapter 2, misogynistic terror is profiled in Chapter 3, whilst gun-smuggling and cybercrime are considered in more depth in Chapter 10
• Chapter 5 features analysis of the rise of ‘genocide diplomacy’
• The rise of private legal challenges to governments for failing to implement commitments to the Paris 2015 Climate Change Accords is reviewed and analysed
• Greater evaluation of global governance, in the face of populist nationalist challenges to international cooperation, is offered

User-friendly and easy to follow, this textbook is designed to make a complex subject accessible to all. Key features include:

• ‘Top ten tables’ highlighting the most destructive events or forms of death in those areas throughout history
• Boxed descriptions elaborating key concepts in the fields of security and International Relations
• ‘Biographical boxes’ of key individuals who have shaped security politics
• Further reading and websites at the end of each chapter guiding you towards classic texts and the most up-to-date information on the various topics
• Glossary of political terminology

This highly acclaimed and popular academic text will continue to be essential reading for everyone interested in security.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781000860573
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	04/25/2023
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	330
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Peter Hough lectures in International Relations at Middlesex University.

Table of Contents

1. Security and securitization  2. Military Threats to security from states  3.Threats to security from non-state actors  4.Economic threats to security  5.Identity, society and insecurity  6.Environmental threats to security  7.Health threats to security  8.Natural threats to security  9.Accidental threats to security  10.Criminal threats to security  11.Towards global security

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

It can be very easy to lapse into academic jargon but it is a trap that Understanding Global Security avoids superbly. As with the first edition, this new version with new features acts not only as an excellent guide but also as a book of signposts as to where the student should go next. The transition to University can be a difficult one, but it would be easier for all students if their subject area had a book of this clarity and comprehensive content.

Lloyd Pettiford, Associate Dean and Professor of International Relations at Nottingham Trent University, UK

Editorial Reviews

"This welcome fourth edition of the classic text on global security provides a lively and incisive update on recent developments. The book is a substantive, magisterial and unrivalled tour de force of the many different dimensions of security in twenty-first century international politics. Dr Hough’s work remains as topical and relevant as ever." - Professor David Humphreys, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The Open University, UK.

"Peter Hough's book is one of the most comprehensive and useful in the increasingly crowded field of 'global security'. Hough's book is clearly written, providing a good balance between theory and practice. Students studying the issues will find it a very useful source." - Jeffrey Haynes, London Metropolitan University, UK.

From the Publisher