New Security Challenges

Written in the middle of a pandemic, this book examines the effect of COVID-19 on regional and global security threats in the first 18 months of the crisis. Throughout history, epidemics have disrupted human civilisations, changed the structure of societies, decided the outcome of wars and prompted incredible technological innovation. Despite massive progress in science, institution-building and cooperation over the past 100 years, COVID-19 has revealed the weaknesses of a world under-prepared for a new disease – that had been widely expected and long overdue! This edited volume brings together leading security experts from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East to share their analysis of the COVID-19 outbreak and its impact on major security threats, including the rise of terrorists and criminal networks and global power politics. The book highlights important lessons learnt from all corners of the planet, in particular the need for cross-sectional, regional and international cooperation and solidarity when it comes to facing any transnational security threat that does not respect political boundaries.

This book offers a very interesting deep-dive into EU and South Korean approaches to cybersecurity issues. In a unique approach, the editors and authors focus on the potential for strategic partnership and shared lessons learned given common commitments to democracy, human rights, the free market, and a rules-based international order of the two regions. Essential reading for students and researchers in political science, international relations, international law, strategic and defence studies, computer science, and cognitive science.

This book demonstrates that the disciplinary boundaries present within international relations approaches to security studies are redundant when examining social media, and inter- and multi-disciplinary analysis is key. A key result of the analysis undertaken is that when examining the social media sphere security scholars need to “expect the unexpected”. This is because social media enables users to subvert, contest and create security narratives with symbols and idioms of their choice which can take into account “traditional” security themes, but also unexpected and under explored themes such as narratives from the local context of the users’ towns and cities, and the symbolism of football clubs. The book also explores the complex topography of social media when considering constructions of security. The highly dynamic topography of social media is neither elite dominated and hierarchical as the Copenhagen School conceptualises security speak. However, neither is it completely flat and egalitarian as suggested by the vernacular security studies’ non-elite approach. Rather, social media’s topography is shifting and dynamic, with individuals gaining influence in security debates in unpredictable ways. In examining social media this book engages with the emancipatory burden of critical security studies. This book argues that it remains unfulfilled on social media and rather presents a “thin” notion of discursive emancipation where social media does provide the ability for previously excluded voices to participate in security debates, even if this does not result in their direct emancipation from power hierarchies and structures offline.

This book analyzes international affairs in the post-Cold War era by taking a special look at identity, norms and interests and the limits of liberal normative universalism. The book assesses the causes of the deterioration of Russian – Western relations, the management of the liberal international order, the challenges liberal democracies face today, the rise of China and its consequences on global governance, and the war in Ukraine as an outcome of the dynamics described throughout the book. China and Russia represent different normative frameworks, have their own national interests, have increased their relative strength and influence and represent alternative economic and diplomatic partners for the Global South. Meanwhile, rising populist sentiment in western liberal democracies reflects important dissatisfaction with establishment policies. This research is particularly important for crafting creative solutions to the dynamic changes of the 21^st century and the rise of nonwestern powers with different identities, interests and norms. 
 

This book makes a compelling case that lethal drone deployment as a counterterrorism tool and instrument of statecraft in targeted states engenders far-reaching consequences for US grand strategy. By examining how successive US administrations since 9/11 have deployed drones in pursuant of different typologies of US grand strategic objectives, the book probes the putative political and strategic goals drones supposedly advance, and the impact of its continued proliferation for US for international security. The book provides a powerful base of evidence for policy makers and researchers by pointing to the perils of deployment of drone technology beyond their immediate or short-term objectives. It also explores how non-state actors and authoritarian regimes such as armed groups are harnessing armed drone technologies for their own political and military ends, as well as the underlying implications for US grand strategy and international security at large.

This book offers a comprehensive analysis of infrastructure insecurity issues in the historic Niger Delta, drawing on empirical fieldwork involving host communities, regulators, and multinational oil and gas operators. It introduces innovative models and theories, such as a pipeline life cycle model focusing on community development, community neglect aggression displacement theory, social aggression theory, stakeholders’ policy development model, contemporary poor governance cycle model, and an infrastructure insecurity nexus model, linking governance, socio-economic conditions, and infrastructure insecurity in resource-rich regions of the Global South. The book bridges gaps left by previous publications, providing depth and applicability of data. It employs the Frustration-Aggression Displacement theory to explain underlying triggers of violence and uses real-world case studies, diagrams, and charts to facilitate understanding. Suitable and engaging for individuals, communities, or regulators involved in oil and gas activities alike, this book offers valuable insights into onshore pipeline infrastructure insecurity in Nigeria, West Africa, and the broader Global South, addressing regulation, compliance, environmental concerns, social aspects, and technological innovations.