Global Security: Learning from Possible Futures.

What are the conditions of, and possibilities for, global security in the 21st century? Have we learnt anything from the late 20th century peace and security studies? In the aftermath of the end of the Cold War, two main lessons suggest themselves.2 The first lesson is liberal democracies do not fight each other (Doyle 1986; Russett 1993a; MacMillan 2004). Perhaps the liberal democratic zone of peace could be further expanded? Perhaps democratization of states will eventually lead to planetary peace? On the other hand, the second lesson seems to be that security is not solely about the objective absence of threats of political violence and war, but also involves politics of securitization and desecuritization (WÆver 1989a, 1995, 1996a). Actors can bring about securitization by presenting something as an existential threat and by dramatizing an issue as being an absolute priority.3 By revealing the politics of security, the post-structuralist theory of securitization stresses the responsibility of actors for their speeches and actions. The moral seems to be that it is only by resisting the temptations of securitization that the political conditions for a security community can be created and maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]