Security Issues in the Post-cold War World

The end of the Cold War revolutionized East-West relations, yet we still live in an ungoverned world of states which recognize no authority above themselves and whose conduct is minimally constrained by considerations of law and morality.

Security Issues in the Post-Cold War World focuses on the changing international security agenda and the serious political instabilities - many rooted in ethnic nationalisms and long-standing border disputes - which have resurfaced with the end of the Cold War. After essays re-examining perennial security problems - including collective security, nuclear proliferation and environmental security - a series of regional studies focuses on the particular problems facing Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Drawing on a wide body of analysis and research on the international system, the contributors to this volume conclude that, despite the ending of the Cold War, 'security', whether defined narrowly or widely, is a scarce commodity.