Abstract

Rethinking the 21st Century brings much needed context and perspective to the security problems we face today. In recent years, the 'Bush Doctrine' - that the security threats we now face are entirely unprecedented - has echoed around the world. Global security and stability is now challenged not only by states and nuclear war, but by insurgency, disease, environmental degradation and military privatisation. Yet this creates a deep sense of disconnect in the way we perceive politics, and can be dangerously stark and ahistorical. The chapters here show that, far from being a clean break, the 'new' problems faced today might actually have 'old' solutions. What can Locke tell us about terrorists? What does Bentham have to say about sanctions? What are the ethics of outsourcing war to private companies? By looking back to decades and even centuries of ethical analysis and political theory, this book provides fascinating insight into all these questions.
Amy E. Eckert is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Metropolitan State College of Denver. Her current research focuses on the growing privatization of war and just war theory. Her work has appeared in journals including International Studies Quarterly and the Journal of Global Ethics. She is President of the International Studies Association - West and a member of the executive board of the International Ethics section of the International Studies Association. Laura Sjoberg is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. Her research focuses on mainstreaming gender in the field of security studies. She is author of Gender, Justice, and the Wars in Iraq (2006) and (with Caron E. Gentry) of Mothers, Monsters, Whores: Women's Violence in Global Politics (2007). Her work has been published in the International Feminist Journal of Politics, International Politics, International Studies Quarterly, and International Studies Perspectives.
'Many editted collections are old before their time. Not this exciting collection, on security and conflict for the next age, from Amy Ekert and Laura Sjoberg. This book is relevant and timely, with up-to-date yet enduring insights, and it features some well-written chapters by such prominent scholars as Cheyney Ryan and Frances Harbour. It sports a terrific bibliography and promises to be useful for anyone concerned about conflict in our time.' Brian Orend, author of The Morality of War 'The editors bring the deep and rich traditions of political theory and international ethics to confront cutting edge security questions in a bold and far-reaching manner. The result is a set of essays treating difficult issues like economic sanctions, the privatization of war and other contemporary security concerns in a fuller and fresh light.' George Lopez, Joan B. Kroc Institute