The human security agenda
Subtitle: how middle power leadership defied U.S. hegemony
By: Ronald M. Behringer
Publisher: Continuum International Pub. Group
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New York, NY
Language: eng
Number of pages: 221
ISBN-13: 9781441131331; 9781441182999
Subjects: Human rights; Human security; National security
Description: "Middle power states, such as Canada or Denmark, are often thought of as 'followers' of great powers rather than significant actors in global security. Challenging this view, this book highlights how middle powers have in fact showed great leadership by developing a 'human security' agenda that focuses on countering threats to human beings rather than to nation-states. The work examines how coalitions of middle powers have performed through five case studies: the formation of the Multinational Standby High Readiness Brigade for United Nations Operations (SHIRBRIG), the realization of the Ottawa Mine Ban Treaty, the establishment of the International Criminal Court, the regulation of the legal trade in small arms and light weapons, and the adoption of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle. Furthermore, the book explores how the human security initiatives were shaped by the middle powers' choices of diplomatic strategy, and how they were affected by the reactions of the hegemonic United States. The Human Security Agenda will appeal to those studying international relations and global security, as well as foreign policy and international organizations."--Bloomsbury Publishing.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Human security and the middle powers: a theoretical background; title: The SHIRBRIG initiative in rapidly deployable peacekeeping; title: Banning anti-personnel landmines: the ottawa process; title: Establishing the international criminal court; title: Regulating the legal trade in small arms and light weapons; title: The responsibility to protect.