Mary Kaldor

Why do politicians think that war is the answer to terror when military intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Mali, Somalia and elsewhere has made things worse? Why do some conflicts never end? And how is it that practices like beheadings, extra-judicial killings, the bombing of hospitals and schools and sexual slavery are becoming increasingly common? In this book, renowned scholar of war and human security Mary Kaldor introduces the concept of global security cultures in order to explain why we get stuck in particular pathways to security. A global security culture, she explains, involves different combinations of ideas, narratives, rules, people, tools, practices and infrastructure embedded in a specific form of political authority, a set of power relations, that come together to address or engage in large-scale violence. In contrast to the Cold War period, when there was one dominant culture based on military forces and nation-states, nowadays there are competing global security cultures. Defining four main types - geo-politics, new wars, the liberal peace, and the war on terror she investigates how we might identify contradictions, dilemmas and experiments in contemporary security cultures that might ultimately open up new pathways to rescue and safeguard civility in the future.

Why do politicians think that war is the answer to terror when military intervention in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Mali, Somalia and elsewhere has made things worse? Why do some conflicts never end? And how is it that practices like beheadings, extra-judicial killings, the bombing of hospitals and schools and sexual slavery are becoming increasingly common? In this book, renowned scholar of war and human security Mary Kaldor introduces the concept of global security cultures in order to explain why we get stuck in particular pathways to security. A global security culture, she explains, involves different combinations of ideas, narratives, rules, people, tools, practices and infrastructure embedded in a specific form of political authority, a set of power relations, that come together to address or engage in large-scale violence. In contrast to the Cold War period, when there was one dominant culture based on military forces and nation-states, nowadays there are competing global security cultures. Defining four main types - geo-politics, new wars, the liberal peace, and the war on terror she investigates how we might identify contradictions, dilemmas and experiments in contemporary security cultures that might ultimately open up new pathways to rescue and safeguard civility in the future.

International Law and New Wars examines how international law fails to address the contemporary experience of what are known as 'new wars' - instances of armed conflict and violence in places such as Syria, Ukraine, Libya, Mali, the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. International law, largely constructed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, rests to a great extent on the outmoded concept of war drawn from European experience - inter-state clashes involving battles between regular and identifiable armed forces. The book shows how different approaches are associated with different interpretations of international law, and, in some cases, this has dangerously weakened the legal restraints on war established after 1945. It puts forward a practical case for what it defines as second generation human security and the implications this carries for international law.

New and Old Wars has fundamentally changed the way both scholars and policy-makers understand contemporary war and conflict. In the context of globalization, this path-breaking book has shown that what we think of as war is becoming an anachronism. In its place is a new type of organized violence or 'new wars'-a mixture of war, organized crime, and massive violations of human rights. This new edition has been fully revised and updated, and includes an afterword answering the critics of the New Wars argument. A new chapter shows how old war thinking in Afghanistan and Iraq greatly exacerbated what turned out to be, in many ways, archetypal new wars-characterized by identity politics, a criminalized war economy, and civilians as the main victims. The third edition of New and Old Wars will be essential reading for students of international relations, politics, and conflict studies, as well as to all those interested in the changing nature and prospect of warfare.

Mary Kaldor's New and Old Wars has fundamentally changed the way both scholars and policy-makers understand contemporary war and conflict. In the context of globalization, this path-breaking book has shown that what we think of as war - that is to say, war between states in which the aim is to inflict maximum violence - is becoming an anachronism. In its place is a new type of organized violence or 'new wars', which could be described as a mixture of war, organized crime and massive violations of human rights. The actors are both global and local, public and private. The wars are fought for particularistic political goals using tactics of terror and destabilization that are theoretically outlawed by the rules of modern warfare. Kaldor's analysis offers a basis for a cosmopolitan political response to these wars, in which the monopoly of legitimate organized violence is reconstructed on a transnational basis and international peacekeeping is reconceptualized as cosmopolitan law enforcement. This approach also has implications for the reconstruction of civil society, political institutions, and economic and social relations. This third edition has been fully revised and updated. Kaldor has added an afterword answering the critics of the New Wars argument and, in a new chapter, Kaldor shows how old war thinking in Afghanistan and Iraq greatly exacerbated what turned out to be, in many ways, archetypal new wars - characterised by identity politics, a criminalised war economy and civilians as the main victims. Like its predecessors, the third edition of New and Old Wars will be essential reading for students of international relations, politics and conflict studies as well as to all those interested in the changing nature and prospect of warfare.

Mary Kaldor's New and Old Wars has fundamentally changed the way both scholars and policy-makers understand contemporary war and conflict. In the context of globalization, this path-breaking book has shown that what we think of as war - that is to say, war between states in which the aim is to inflict maximum violence - is becoming an anachronism. In its place is a new type of organized violence or 'new wars', which could be described as a mixture of war, organized crime and massive violations of human rights. The actors are both global and local, public and private. The wars are fought for particularistic political goals using tactics of terror and destabilization that are theoretically outlawed by the rules of modern warfare. Kaldor's analysis offers a basis for a cosmopolitan political response to these wars, in which the monopoly of legitimate organized violence is reconstructed on a transnational basis and international peacekeeping is reconceptualized as cosmopolitan law enforcement. This approach also has implications for the reconstruction of civil society, political institutions, and economic and social relations. This third edition has been fully revised and updated. Kaldor has added an afterword answering the critics of the New Wars argument and, in a new chapter, Kaldor shows how old war thinking in Afghanistan and Iraq greatly exacerbated what turned out to be, in many ways, archetypal new wars - characterised by identity politics, a criminalised war economy and civilians as the main victims. Like its predecessors, the third edition of New and Old Wars will be essential reading for students of international relations, politics and conflict studies as well as to all those interested in the changing nature and prospect of warfare.

There is a real security gap in the world today. Millions of people in regions like the Middle East or East and Central Africa or Central Asia where new wars are taking place live in daily fear of violence. Moreover new wars are increasingly intertwined with other global risks the spread of disease, vulnerability to natural disasters, poverty and homelessness. Yet our security conceptions, drawn from the dominant experience of World War II and based on the use of conventional military force, do not reduce that insecurity; rather they make it worse. This book is an exploration of this security gap. It makes the case for a new approach to security based on a global conversation- a public debate among civil society groups and individuals as well as states and international institutions. The chapters follow on from Kaldors path breaking analysis of the character of new wars in places like the Balkans or Africa during the 1990s. The first four chapters provide a context; they cover the experience of humanitarian intervention, the nature of American power, the new nationalist and religious movements that are associated with globalization, and how these various aspects of current security dilemmas have played out in the Balkans. The last three chapters are more normative, dealing with the evolution of the idea of global civil society, the relevance of just war theory in a global era, and the concept of human security and what it might mean to implement such a concept. This book will appeal to all those interested in issues of peace and conflict, in particular to students of politics and international relations.

There is a real security gap in the world today. Millions of people in regions like the Middle East or East and Central Africa or Central Asia where new wars are taking place live in daily fear of violence. Moreover new wars are increasingly intertwined with other global risks the spread of disease, vulnerability to natural disasters, poverty and homelessness. Yet our security conceptions, drawn from the dominant experience of World War II and based on the use of conventional military force, do not reduce that insecurity; rather they make it worse. This book is an exploration of this security gap. It makes the case for a new approach to security based on a global conversation- a public debate among civil society groups and individuals as well as states and international institutions. The chapters follow on from Kaldors path breaking analysis of the character of new wars in places like the Balkans or Africa during the 1990s. The first four chapters provide a context; they cover the experience of humanitarian intervention, the nature of American power, the new nationalist and religious movements that are associated with globalization, and how these various aspects of current security dilemmas have played out in the Balkans. The last three chapters are more normative, dealing with the evolution of the idea of global civil society, the relevance of just war theory in a global era, and the concept of human security and what it might mean to implement such a concept. This book will appeal to all those interested in issues of peace and conflict, in particular to students of politics and international relations.

Takaako kaikkialla vahvistuva kansalaisyhteiskunta maailmanrauhan? Sanat ”globaali” ja ”kansalaisyhteiskunta” kuuluvat nykyään oleelli­ses­ti ai­kam­me poliittiseen keskusteluun. Mary Kaldor esittää, että kansalais­yhteiskunnan uusi tuleminen on ymmärrettävä osana globalisaatiota eikä se enää pysy yksittäisten valtioiden rajojen sisällä. Diktatuurimaiden toisinajattelijat, Keski-Amerikan maattomat työläiset, maamiinojen vastustajat, kehitysmaa-aktivistit ja jopa uskonnolliset fundamentalistit voivat nykyään verkottua samanmielisten ryhmien kanssa kaikkialla maailmassa. Näin ne voivat painostaa paitsi kansallisia hallituksia myös yleismaailmallisia instituutioita. Tämä synnyttää uusia mahdollisuuksia ihmisten todelliselle vapautumiselle ja tarjoaa samalla rauhanomaisen ratkaisun globaaleihin ongelmiin. Mary Kaldor on London School of Economicsin professori, jonka laajasta tuotannosta on aiemmin suomennettu teos Uudet ja vanhat sodat (Taifuuni, 2001). Jälkisanat on kirjoittanut toisen julkaisijan, Suomen Rauhanliiton puheenjohtaja Kalevi Suomela.

Begreppet »civilsamhälle» har en lång historia i det politiska språket. Det fick en renässans på 70- och 80-talet: dels i den östeuropeiska oppositionen, dels i diskussionen om de västliga demokratiernas problem. Efter 1989 har begreppet kopplats ihop med globaliseringen: med transnationella sociala rörelser och idéer om en global offentlighet, rättsordning och politisk styrning. Kaldor granskar den historiska utvecklingen av begreppet »civilsamhälle» och dess olika betydelser i dagens politiska debatt. Hon skiljer mellan fem olika versioner av civilsamhället, som också ligger till grund för olika försök att tänka begreppet i en global kontext: civilsamhället som rättsordning, som ett marknadsekonomiskt baserat samhälle skilt från staten, som en offentlighet med sociala rörelser som viktiga aktörer, som den frivilliga eller s.k. tredje sektorn och som en arena för strid. Kaldor står själv närmast förståelsen av civilsamhället som offentlighet, sociala rörelser och medborgaraktivism, men försöker syntetisera de olika versionerna. Civilsamhället är, enligt hennes definition, det medium genom vilket sociala kontrakt mellan individer och politiska och ekonomiska maktcentra förhandlas fram och reproduceras. Hon beskriver framväxten av ett civilsamhälle som inte längre är bundet till nationalstaten och undersöker dess olika aktörer och former av politik. I centrum för hennes uppmärksamhet står etableringen av en internationell rättsordning som kan trygga fred, säkerhet och mänskliga rättigheter och i ett avslutande kapitel reflekterar hon över detta kosmopolitiska projekt mot bakgrund av världssituationen efter 11 september. Mary Kaldor är professor vid London School of Economics and Political Science och leder dess Global Civil Society-program. Hon är författare till den uppmärksammade boken Nya och gamla krig, som utgivits på Daidalos.

The terms 'global' and 'civil society' have both become part of the contemporary political lexicon. In this important new book, Mary Kaldor argues that this is no coincidence and that the reinvention of civil society has to be understood in the context of globalization. The concept of civil society is no longer confined to the borders of the territorial state. Whether one considers dissidents in repressive regimes, landless labourers in Central America, campaigners against land mines or global debt, or even religious fundamentalists, it is now possible for them to link up with other like-minded groups in different parts of the world and to address demands not just to national governments but to global institutions as well. This has opened up new opportunities for human emancipation, and, in particular, for going beyond war as a way of managing global affairs. But it also entails new risks and insecurities. This is a book about a political idea - an idea that came out of the 1989 revolutions. It is an idea that expresses a real phenomenon, even if the boundaries and shape of the phenomenon are contested and subject to constant redefinition. The study of past debates as well as the actions and arguments of the present is a way of directly influencing the phenomenon, and of contributing to a changing reality, if possible for the better. The task is all the more urgent in the aftermath of September 11. Global Civil Society will be read by students of politics, international relations and sociology, as well as activists, policy-makers, journalists and all those engaged in global public debates.

The terms 'global' and 'civil society' have both become part of the contemporary political lexicon. In this important new book, Mary Kaldor argues that this is no coincidence and that the reinvention of civil society has to be understood in the context of globalization. The concept of civil society is no longer confined to the borders of the territorial state. Whether one considers dissidents in repressive regimes, landless labourers in Central America, campaigners against land mines or global debt, or even religious fundamentalists, it is now possible for them to link up with other like-minded groups in different parts of the world and to address demands not just to national governments but to global institutions as well. This has opened up new opportunities for human emancipation, and, in particular, for going beyond war as a way of managing global affairs. But it also entails new risks and insecurities. This is a book about a political idea - an idea that came out of the 1989 revolutions. It is an idea that expresses a real phenomenon, even if the boundaries and shape of the phenomenon are contested and subject to constant redefinition. The study of past debates as well as the actions and arguments of the present is a way of directly influencing the phenomenon, and of contributing to a changing reality, if possible for the better. The task is all the more urgent in the aftermath of September 11. Global Civil Society will be read by students of politics, international relations and sociology, as well as activists, policy-makers, journalists and all those engaged in global public debates.

I vår globala tidsålder har krig ? det vill säga krig mellan stater i syfte att utöva maximalt våld ? blivit en anakronism. I dess ställe har en ny form av organiserat våld uppkommit, ett fenomen som Mary Kaldor beskriver som »nya krig». Dessa nya krig utgörs av en blandning av krig, organiserad kriminalitet och systematisk kränkning av mänskliga rättigheter. Aktörerna i detta drama är såväl globala som lokala, offentliga som privata. De nya krigen utkämpas i partikulära politiska syften och tillämpar en taktik av terror och destabilisering som bryter mot krigföringens erkända regler. De fungerar med hjälp av en informell kriminaliserad ekonomi. Politiska ledare och internationella institutioner har stått handfallna inför det växande hotet från dessa krig eftersom de inte förstått dess logik; de nya krigen behandlas antingen som gamla krig eller som utbrott av anarki. Mary Kaldor pläderar för att de nya krigen bemöts med politiska medel på en kosmopolitisk nivå. Nya och gamla krig är en viktig bok för alla intresserade av internationella relationer, freds- och konfliktforskning, politisk teori och statsvetenskap. Mary Kaldor är verksam vid universitetet i Sussex och vid London School of Economics.