Understanding New Security Threats

This textbook examines non-traditional forms of security and expands the notion of security to include non-state actors and non-human actors.
Proposing an expansive view of non-traditional forms of security that go beyond traditionally recognized issues of threats to state and national territory, this new textbook rests on the following premises:
traditional state-centered threats, such as nuclear proliferation and espionage, remain a concern;



old and new threats combine and create interlocking puzzles-a feature of wicked problems and wicked messes;


because of the global erosion of borders, new developments of unconventional insecurity interact in ways that frustrate traditional conceptual definitions, conceptual maps, and national policies;


unconventional security challenges which have traditionally been seen as "low politics" or "soft" issues are now being recognized as "hard security" challenges in the twenty-first century;


many of the so-called "new" threats detailed here are in fact very old: diseases, gender violence, food insecurity, under-development, and crime are all traditional security threats, but deeply modified today by globalization.



The chapters offer local and global examples and engage with various theoretical approaches to help readers see the bigger picture. Solutions are also suggested to these problems. Each chapter contains discussion questions to help readers understand the key points and facilitate class discussion.
This book will be of great interest to students of international security studies, human security, global politics, and international relations.

Prologue Part I: Ecosystems and Natural Resources Introduction: Yesterday's Security Debates, Today's Realities Michel Gueldry, Gigi Gokcek and Lui Hebron 1. Climate Change: The Existential Security Threat Multiplier Amy Below 2. Geoengineering: A New and Emerging Security Threat? Michael D. Beevers 3. The Intersecting Dimensions of Water Security Neda A. Zawahri and Erika Weinthal 4. Competition and Cooperation in Energy Security: Dilemmas for National Security and Influence Michael A. Davis and Jonathan Drake Part II: Human Security, Community and Gender Issues 5. The Body Politics of Security: Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Marissa Quie 6. Gender-based Violence: A Threat to Human Security in the Global North and Global South Nicole Gerring 7. Food Security Governance: Lessons from the Global South Erica Resende and Adriana Erthal Abnedur 8. Invisible Foes and Micro-Enemies: Pathogens, Diseases, and Global Health Security Adrienne Formentos and Gigi Gokcek 9. Push, Pull and Politics: The International Migration Issue after the Syrian Civil War, Brexit and Trump Joel R. Campbell Part III: Sub- and Trans-State Actors and Forces: Disruptions and Violence 10. Sub-state Actors' Threats to International Security: Religious Extremists and Terrorist Groups Sharad Joshi 11. Organized Crime and Trafficking: Mapping Out the Threats and Actors to Find Solutions Colin P. Clarke 12. Transnational Organized Crime and Globalization: Godmothers of the Mafia and the Undermining of the Italian State and Society Serena Simoni 13. Emerging Threats in Cyber Space: The Next Domain of Warfare Christian-Marc Liflä nder 14. Cyber Threats and Solutions for the Private Sector Daniel Addington and Mike Manrod 15. Threats from STEM Jason Sebastiani, Joe Sanchez and Mike Manrod 16. Risk and Uncertainty in the Global Container Supply Chain Khalid Bachkar and Lui Hebron 17. Steeped in Insecurity? Democracy, Conflict, and the Threat of Populist Security Crister S. Garrett Epilogue