New Threats and New Actors in Security Governance: Developments, Problems, and Solutions

Abstract

Two key developments have been central to international security in the post-Cold War era: the emergence of new threats such as ethnic wars, terrorism, transnational crime, HIV/AIDS, and small arms, and the proliferation of non-state actors such as nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) transnational corporations, private security companies, and international regimes, in the provision of human, national, and international security. This volume has aimed to explore the relationship between these two trends. In particular, it has raised a number of questions, such as: What is the nature of these “new” security threats? To what degree are states unwilling or unable to address them? Are non-state actors more suited to dealing with nontraditional security threats? Finally, what are the advantages and what are the problems associated with the growing role of private actors in the making and implementation of security policy?