Abstract

In this hugely influential book, originally published in 2001 but just as - if not more - relevant today, Mark Duffield shows how war has become an integral component of development discourse. Aid agencies have become increasingly involved in humanitarian assistance, conflict resolution and the social reconstruction of war-torn societies. Duffield explores the consequences of this growing merger of development and security, unravelling the nature of the new wars and the response of the international community, in particular the new systems of global governance that are emerging as a result. An essential work for anyone studying, interested in, or working in development or international security.
Mark Duffield is emeritus professor at the Global Insecurities Centre, University of Bristol. He has taught at the universities of Khartoum, Aston and Birmingham and held fellowships and chairs at Sussex, Leeds and Lancaster. Mark is currently a member of the Scientific Board of the Flemish Peace Institute, Brussels, and a fellow of the Rift Valley Institute, London and Nairobi. Outside of academia, during the 1980s he was Oxfam's country representative in Sudan. Duffield has advised government departments, including DFID, EU (ECHO), the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), and non-governmental organisations, such as CAFOD, International Alert, Comic Relief and Oxfam, along with UNICEF, UNOCHA, UNDP and UNHCR.
'Global Governance and the New Wars remains a must-read text for anybody wanting to interrogate the changing contours of global security governance. Anticipating with remarkable foresight the political consequences of the merger between security and development in zones of crises, its insightful  prose not only defined a critical canon to move us beyond the conceit of sovereign academics, the force of its message remains as prescient as ever.'  Brad Evans, University of Bristol 'What is needed is to move beyond the idea of war-as-breakdown towards a fundamental rethink about how local elites, ordinary people, and international governments are continuously adapting to war and to global economic change. This breathtaking tour-de-force from one of the leading thinkers in this field points the way forward.' David Keen, London School of Economics and Political Science 'Mark Duffield's book is a must for anyone grappling with the contemporary nature of war and humanitarianism. Taking us beyond the stilted confines of international policy to the politics of modern violence, the argument exposes the way talk of "complex political emergencies" fails to grasp the fundamental characteristics of "emergent political complexes". Duffield lays bare the failings of aid policy in this regard.' David Campbell, Beijing Foreign Studies University 'Duffield's well-written book offers groundbreaking research in the emerging field created by the intersection of international security and international development ...The book offers not only theoretical understanding of the problem but also good research to understand the problem in practice.' D. S. Reveron, Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries