Book Review of Global Security Cultures
Abstract:
Global Security Cultures is a book that helps us to understand why the 'conflicts' or 'war' between nations drags on, even when we know very clearly that the consequences of military means being used to attack terrorist, only worsens the situations. This book is written by the renowned scholar of war and human security, Mary Kaldor, Professor of Global Governance and Director of The Conflict and Civil Society Research Unit at the London School of Economics. Mary Kaldor, in this book bring in the concept of 'security gap' that even though 'millions of people lives in conditions of deep insecurity, and yet the security apparatus, that is largely consisting of military forces does not address the concern, rather it worsens the conditions'. In this book, Kaldor, introduces the concepts like 'global' is used "as the ways of doing or patterns of behaviour rather than national or ethnic culture", 'security culture' as "different interconnected combination of ideas, rules people, tools, tactics and infrastructure linked to different type of political authority" and 'culture' as she states, "helps to explain why certain practices become normalized or habituated even if they appear to be contrary to logic". In this book, through these concepts, Kaldor is raising very pertinent questions like 'Why do politicians think that war is the answer to terrorism and with examples from war conducted at Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Mali, and Somalia had only worsen the situations and the conflicts in these places are never ending?'. The central proposition of this book is that "the utility of military forces has been transformed as a consequence of technological change".
Keyword:
Global Security Culture, Geo-poliyics, New War, Security Studies