This work brings together the papers presented at a conference on `New Dimensions of Peacekeeping' which was convened at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva in March 1994. The papers address the new role of peacekeeping (including peacekeeping and peace enforcement) which is now emerging and also places an emphasis upon the role of the `newcomers' in peacekeeping, specifically Japan and Germany. The collection of papers, by many distinguished scholars in the field, actively discusses both the strengths and weaknesses of the United Nations peacekeeping efforts in meeting the increasing demands placed upon it due to the enormous upsurge in ethnic, religious and other local conflicts. `The 1990s have seen wide swings in public opinion towards United Nations Peacekeeping. The euphoria and high expectations regarding what the United Nations can deliver have been replaced by the rude shocks and deflated assessments of its capacity to successfully cope with conflicts. In this context, it would be highly desirable that a judicious balance be struck in the evaluation of United Nations peacekeeping activities, which takes fully into account the great potential they have for contributing to international peace and security and to the reduction of human suffering. At the same time, such a review should include a candid discussion regarding the weaknesses and shortcomings of peacekeeping activities.' (Excerpt from the Introduction by Yasushi Akashi, Chief of Mission of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) in the former Yugoslavia)

This volume offers an informed and critical analysis of the operationalization and institutionalization of the peace and security architecture by the African Union and Africa's Regional Economic Communities (RECs). In creating this architecture, the African Union and the RECs tread new ground with potentially significant consequences to the lives and livelihoods of millions of Africans who are affected by war and armed conflict. In-depth, critical chapters inform, clarify and provide key points for reflection on the architecture as a whole as well as on each of the structures currently under implementation. The volume examines the institutions that will carry the mandate forward, raises pertinent research questions for the successful operationalization of the architecture and debates the medium and long-term challenges to implementation. Students and researchers of African approaches to peace building, conflict resolution and regional security will benefit from the deep and critical engagement of issues covered in this volume by world renowned scholars and practitioners.

During ten days in July 2008, around fifty students and a dozen professors from twelve different European universities met at the University of Coimbra for the Fifth Intensive Seminar of the European Doctorate Enhancement Programme on Peace and Conflict (EDEN) and discussed the new dimensions of peace and security studies. Their contributions reflect the research agendas of a new generation, who continue to address enduring themes in peace and conflict studies, but whose formative influences are those of a complex post Cold War world.

This new book presents critical approaches towards Human Security, which has become one of the key areas for policy and academic debate within Security Studies and IR. The Human Security paradigm has had considerable significance for academics, policy-makers and practitioners. Under the rubric of Human Security, security policy practices seem to have transformed their goals and approaches, re-prioritising economic and social welfare issues that were marginal to the state-based geo-political rivalries of the Cold War era. Human Security has reflected and reinforced the reconceptualisation of international security, both broadening and deepening it, and, in so doing, it has helped extend and shape the space within which security concerns inform international policy practices. However, in its wider use, Human Security has become an amorphous and unclear political concept, seen by some as progressive and radical and by others as tainted by association with the imposition of neo-liberal practices and values on non-Western spaces or as legitimizing attacks on Iraq and Afghanistan. This book is concerned with critical perspectives towards Human Security, highlighting some of the tensions which can emerge between critical perspectives which discursively radicalise Human Security within frameworks of emancipatory possibility and those which attempt to deconstruct Human Security within the framework of an externally imposed attempt to regulate and order the globe on behalf of hegemonic power. The chapters gathered in this edited collection represent a range of critical approaches which bring together alternative understandings of human security. This book will be of great interest to students of human security studies and critical security studies, war and conflict studies and international relations.

This book offers an introduction to Information Technology with regard to peace, conflict, and security research, a topic that it approaches from natural science, technical and computer science perspectives. Following an initial review of the fundamental roles of IT in connection with peace, conflict and security, the contributing authors address the rise of cyber conflicts via information warfare, cyber espionage, cyber defence and Darknets. The book subsequently explores recent examples of cyber warfare, including: • The Stuxnet attack on Iran’s uranium refining capability • The hacking of the German Federal Parliament’s internal communication system • The Wannacry malware campaign, which used software stolen from a US security agency to launch ransomware attacks worldwide The book then introduces readers to the concept of cyber peace, including a discussion of confidence and security-building measures. A section on Cyber Arms Control draws comparisons to global efforts to control chemical warfare, to reduce the risk of nuclear war, and to prevent the militarization of space. Additional topics include the security of critical information infrastructures, and cultural violence and peace in social media. The book concludes with an outlook on the future role of IT in peace and security. Information Technology for Peace and Security breaks new ground in a largely unexplored field of study, and offers a valuable asset for a broad readership including students, educators and working professionals in computer science, IT security, peace and conflict studies, and political science.

This broad-ranging book examines the creation, through the arts and culture, of societies that enjoy sustainable, positive peace. It begins with a critique of the pervasive nature of militarism and violence embedded deep in the cultural fabric of many societies, influencing the language and discourses we use, the films we watch, our museums and histories, our journalism, and our education systems. It also examines the roots of violence in our parenting styles, gender roles, and spiritual practices. It contrasts this with an examination of a number of peaceful societies that already exist, drawing useful lessons from their cultures. It critiques discrepancies in history education with regard to war and peace and examines artistic and cultural processes, institutions, and artifacts designed to create peace, such as peace museums and parks, peace journalism, peace education, and resistance to violence through cultural means, such as film-making, fine arts, satirical theatre, and protest music. Solutions-oriented, it examines the efficacy of these attempts and suggests positive ways forward. It also explores the role of gender in creating cultures of peace and the impacts on peacebuilding of cultivating peace within.

In United Nations Peace Operations and Human Rights: Normativity and Compliance Sylvia Maus offers a comprehensive account of the human rights obligations of United Nations peace operations and the reasons for (non-)compliance by using an interdisciplinary approach.