The Quest for Security — Protection Without Protectionism and the Challenge of Global Governance

The essays in this collection boldly confront the quest for security arising out of the social, economic, environmental, and political crises and transformations of our century. Joseph E. Stiglitz and Mary Kaldor begin with an expansive, balanced analysis of the global landscape and the factors contributing to the growth of insecurity. While earlier studies have touched on how globalization has increased economic insecurity and how geopolitical changes may have contributed to military insecurity, this volume looks for some common threads: in a globalized world without a global government, with a system of global governance not up to the tasks, how do we achieve security without looking inward and stepping back from globalization? In each of their areas of expertise, contributors seek answers to questions about how we achieve protection of those people who are most insecure without resorting to economic, military, or mafia protectionism.

Some have suggested that the turmoil in the eurozone "proves" the deficiencies in the welfare state. This book argues that the superior performance of the Scandinavian countries arises from their superior systems of social protection, which allow their citizens to undertake greater risk and more actively participate in globalization. Others suggest that we can address terrorism or transnational crimes through the strengthening of borders or long distance wars. This book develops the proposition that such approaches have the opposite effect and that only through spreading the kind of human security experienced in well-ordered societies can these dangers be managed.

This book also examines how these global changes play out not only in the relations among countries and the management of globalization but at every level of our society -- most importantly in our cities, especially with increasing urbanization. It explores the potential for cities to effectively ensure personal security, promote political participation, and protect the environment.

Joseph E. Stiglitz is a professor and cochair of the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University, and former chief economist and senior vice president of the World Bank. His books include Making Globalization Work; Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy; and The Price of Inequality: How Today's Divided Society Endangers Our Future. In 2001, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics.

Mary Kaldor is professor of global governance and director of the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit at the London School of Economics. She is the author of many books, including The Ultimate Weapon Is No Weapon: Human Security and the Changing Rules of War and Peace; New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era; and Global Civil Society: An Answer to War. Kaldor was a founding member of European Nuclear Disarmament and of the Helsinki Citizen's Assembly. She is also convener of the Human Security Study Group, which reported to Javier Solana.