The Ultimate Weapon is No Weapon
Human Security and the New Rules of War and Peace
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- $15.99
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- $15.99
Publisher Description
The twenty-first century has seen millions unemployed. It has seen livelihoods undermined by environmental degradation. Middle-class cities in Europe, Asia, and Africa have become cauldrons of violence and resentment. Tribalism, ethnic nationalism, and religious fundamentalism have flared dangerously, from Russia to Spain. The use of force is unlikely to help. What works when counter-insurgency has run its course: in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and beyond?
In this book, two authors brought together from distant points on the political spectrum by their concerns about the repercussions of violent political conflict on human lives, explain and explore a new idea for stabilizing the dangerous neighborhoods of the world. They challenge head-on Condoleezza Rice's declaration that "it is not the job of the 82nd Airborne Division to escort kids to kindergarten" contending that, in fact, it should be. When marginalized populations are trapped in poverty and lawlessness and denied political power and justice brutality, and fascism thrive. Human security is a new concept for clarifying what peace requires and the policies and priorities by which to achieve it.
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Beebe, Senior Africa Analyst for the U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff, and Kaldor, director of the Centre for the Study of Global Governance at the London School of Economics, illustrate the failures of military might as the solution for insurgencies in global hotspots like Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Balkans. The authors argue that issues of basic human security, such as access to water, power, and medical services, will ultimately turn local opinion and support to whomever can provide it. Focusing primarily on Iraq and Afghanistan, Beebe and Kaldor believe that a challenge to ending the insurgency is the fact that the U.S. and its allies are following the Laws of Land Warfare, or more simply, the rules of war, whereas the insurgents are not; for them, the ends justifies the means. The authors argue that providing for basic security can work in winning hearts and minds, but that basic security isn't enough. Real change will require re-educating people to demand security from their own governments. A shift such as this will happen only if the people want it to, and it will have to take place over many generations.
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