A collection of articles written from 1989 to 2009, updated for this volume.

This book analyzes the paradox that despite being a national security state, Pakistan has become even more insecure in the post-Cold War era. It provides an in-depth analysis of Pakistan’s foreign and security policies and their implications for the overall state and society. The book identifies the immediate security challenges to Pakistan and charts the distinctive evolution of Pakistan’s national security state in which the military elite became the dominant actor in the political sphere of government during and after the Cold War period. By examining the national security state, militarization, democracy and security, proxy wars and the hyper-military-industrial complex, the author illustrates how the vanguard role of the military created considerable structural, sociopolitical, economic, and security problems in Pakistan. Furthermore, the author argues that the mismatch between Pakistan’s national security stance and the transformed security environment has been facilitated and sustained by the embedded interests of the country’s military-industrial complex. A critical evaluation of the role of the military in the political affairs of the government and how it has created structural problems for Pakistan, this book will be of interest to academics in the field of South Asian Politics and Security, South Asian Foreign and Security Policy, International Relations, Asian Security, and Cold War Studies.

Going beyond the stereotypes of Kalashnikov-wielding Afghan mujahideen and black-turbaned Taliban fundamentalists, Larry Goodson explains in this concise analysis of the Afghan war what has really been happening in Afghanistan in the last twenty years. Beginning with the reasons behind Afghanistan’s inability to forge a strong state -- its myriad cleavages along ethnic, religious, social, and geographical fault lines -- Goodson then examines the devastating course of the war itself. He charts its utter destruction of the country, from the deaths of more than 2 million Afghans and the dispersal of some six million others as refugees to the complete collapse of its economy, which today has been replaced by monoagriculture in opium poppies and heroin production. The Taliban, some of whose leaders Goodson interviewed as recently as 1997, have controlled roughly 80 percent of the country but themselves have shown increasing discord along ethnic and political lines.

Why is it that despite the end of the Cold War and the almost constant controversies surrounding the alliance's role in the world, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is still a prominent and vital player in international security? Joe Burton provides an in-depth analysis of NATO's changing role in the post–Cold War era and its ability to survive, adapt, and meet the needs of its members in an increasingly turbulent, globalized security environment. He offers a historically and theoretically informed account of NATO that isolates the core dynamics that have held the alliance together in troubled times. In particular, he examines a series of processes and events—from the 1990 Gulf War to the rise of the Islamic State—that help explain NATO's continuing relevance.

The post-Cold War era began with a decade of conflicts often mediated by the United States as the world's only remaining superpower. The September 11 terrorist attacks, however, marked the dawning of a new era. The United States became preoccupied by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, while around the world, new challenges and threats emerged: a more assertive Russia, an increasingly powerful China, dangerous terrorism organizations, and a refugee crisis in the Middle East that spilled into Europe. The story of this fraught era, in which the world was beset by millennial anxiety and destabilized by geopolitical shifts in the balance of power, is told here with great insight and a sure understanding of the complex interplay of action and reaction that characterized the proliferation of conflicts at the turn of the 21st century.

This book takes a new approach to answering the question of how NATO survived after the Cold War by examining its complex relationship with the United States. A closer look at major NATO engagements in the post-Cold War era, including in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya, reveals how the US helped comprehensively reshape the alliance. In every conflict, there was tension between the United States and its allies over mission leadership, political support, legal precedents, military capabilities, and financial contributions. The author explores why allied actions resulted in both praise and criticism of NATO’s contributions from American policymakers, and why despite all of this and the growing concern over the alliance’s perceived shortcomings the United States continued to support the alliance. In addition to demonstrating the American influence on the alliance, this works demonstrates why NATO’s survival is beneficial to US interests.

Instability in Afghanistan has had a considerable effect on regional security in Central Asia, particularly in the aftermath of the events of 9/11, and this has meant that the importance of NATO and its contribution to security in this area has increased considerably. A detailed analysis of this topic is precisely important because it could highlight the areas where the Central Asian countries could increase their security contributions to Afghanistan’s security through enhancing their cooperation with NATO. This book presents the fully revised and updated versions of papers presented at the NATO Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), 'NATO, the Fight against International Terrorism in Afghanistan and Security Situation in Central Asia since 9/11', held in Ankara, Turkey, in April 2011. This ARW was supported by the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme. The book takes a comprehensive approach to the regional security complex in Central Asia by emphasizing the human security, socio-political and energy dimensions in addition to the traditional military dimension of the fight against international terrorism in and around Afghanistan. The findings of the book enhance our understanding of the root causes of international terrorism and the effective ways of coping with the security challenges in this region. The book is divided into five parts: First, NATO’s Contribution to Lasting Security in Afghanistan; Second, Responses of the Central Asian States to Political Instability, Organized Crime and International Terrorism in Afghanistan; Third, Energy Security in and around Central Asia; Fourth, International Competition and Co-operation over Afghanistan and Central Asia; and Last but not least, Regional Security Organizations and the Fight against International Terrorism in Afghanistan.

As Ambassador and Special Envoy on Afghanistan from 1989 to 1992, Peter Tomsen has had close relationships with Afghan leaders and has dealt with senior Taliban, warlords, and religious leaders involved in the region's conflicts over the last two decades. Now Tomsen draws on a rich trove of never-before-published material to shed new light on the American involvement in the long and continuing Afghan war. This book offers a deeply informed perspective on how Afghanistan's history as a "shatter zone" for foreign invaders and its tribal society have shaped the modern Afghan narrative. It brings to life the appallingly misinformed secret operations by foreign intelligence agencies, including the Soviet NKVD and KGB, the Pakistani ISI, and the CIA. American policy makers, Tomsen argues, still do not understand Afghanistan; nor do they appreciate how the CIA's covert operations and the Pentagon's military strategy have strengthened extremism in the country. At this critical time, he shows how the U.S. and the coalition it leads can assist the region back to peace and stability.

This new study questions whether peacekeeping fundamentally changed between the Cold War and Post-Cold War periods. Focusing on contrasting case studies of the Congo, Cyprus, Somalia and Angola, as well as more recent operations in Sierra Leone and East Timor, it probes new evidence with clarity and rigour. The authors conclude that most peacekeeping operations - whether in the Cold War or Post-Cold War periods - were flawed due to the failure of the UN member states to agree upon achievable objectives, the precise nature of the operations and provision of the necessary resources, and unrealistic post-1989 expectations that UN peacekeeping operations could be adapted to the changed international circumstances. The study concludes by looking at the Brahimi reforms, questions whether these are realistically achievable and looks at their impact on contemporary peace operations in Sierra Leone, East Timor and elsewhere.