Existential Threats and Civil Security Relations critically analyzes, presents, and further develops the major approaches to existential threats--structural, cultural, and rational. It examines the influence these threats have on effective democracies, formal democracies, and democratizing states.

European states and international organizations have established multiple policies and mechanisms to deal with various risks, crises and disasters. This edited volume examines the emerging multi-level policy space of European civil security governance, identifying patterns and reviewing the opportunities and obstacles for cooperation.

Civil security is an increasingly important policy field in Europe, as both Member States and the EU work to protect European societies from a range of threats and risks including natural and man-made disasters as well as terrorist attacks. Over time, each European country has developed a unique civil security system based on its national specificities, which interacts with both neighbour countries and the Union. This research paper analyses the Italian case on the basis of four analytical dimensions: cultural and historical aspects, legal aspects, the relation between the civil security system and citizens, the role of private sector. Three critical qualitative measures of the system are also discussed: effectiveness, efficiency and legitimacy. In addition, because of the importance of international cooperation and EU role in this field, the relations between the Italian security system and the European context are addressed. Specific attention has been devoted to the way the system responded to the earthquake in L’Aquila and the pandemic influenza A (H1N1), both occurred in 2009, as major crises faced in the last decade. In particular, the L’Aquila case study has underlined both strengths and weaknesses of the way the system does function. Several key points of the Italian civil security system have been identified, such as the flexible cooperation among institutional actors, the issue of levels of governance, the role of changing legal frameworks, the contribution of non-profit organizations.

Developing the traditional civil-military relations approach to include security actors, the book compares the style of civil-security relations in both Egypt and Turkey. The volume comprehends the competition between civilian actors and military and security actors to impose control over the political regimes in transition and how this is related to the issue of good governance and democratization. The Egyptian and Turkish cases are viably comparable in terms of the status of civil-security relations and level of civilian control, specifically considering the different outcomes of the latest military putsches in both country (2013 in Egypt and 2016 in Turkey), and the extended experiences of both countries with a strong military influence and presence in politics. The different responses of the Egyptian and Turkish publics to the coup attempts invite an interesting comparison, especially given that in both cases, the public was the decisive factor in the success or failure of the coup. Focusing on civil-security relations within the broader context of good governance and democracy in Egypt and Turkey this book will be a key resource for students and scholars interested in political science, specifically comparative government studies and Middle East studies.

National Security and Civil Liberty takes the reader on a unique journey through American history from the colonial era to the present day. Suitable for a history, criminal justice, or law class, no other book on the market examines two centuries of American history from the perspective of balancing national security and individual civil liberty interests. Where other books may focus on a particular liberty issue or security issue - such as government spying on political groups or distrust of aliens - this book reviews history by examining events occurring during significant decades in America's history (e.g.: The Colonial Era, Civil War Era, the Cold War Era). This approach enables the reader to better appreciate how two centuries of war, acts of terror, distrust of aliens, innovations in technology, and presidential intrigue have shaped the federal government's present response to perceived threats to our national security. Sadly, government action (spying, censorship, mass internment) in the face of a perceived crisis (the threat of communism, violent groups, terrorists) has usually led to the temporary lessening of traditional civil liberties, followed by cooling-off periods of decreased federal action where civil liberties are restored. However, our history has shown that once initiated, government encroachment upon individual liberty and freedom is never completely halted. The net effect of decades of steady, incremental advances in technology and military capabilities, coupled with the acceptance of ever-lessening liberties since the 9/11 attacks, means that we may now be living in a "police state" in America. After reading the book, students will have a solid foundation of historical information upon which to draw as they examine the issue of the trading of cherished liberties in the hope it will lead to increased security.

This volume critically engages with the phenomenon of civil militias in Africa, especially the nature of threats and challenges they pose to national and human security. It questions why the African political scene is increasingly inundated with the activities of civil militias, examines the socio-political and economic conditions that trigger and/or encourage and sustain the operations of civil militias, and investigates the dominant motivations of African civil militias. In the face of this complex security emergency, the volume conceptualizes and theorizes the phenomenon of civil militias; focuses the academic debate and policy on the links between civil militias and the growing cycle of state failure, instability, collapse and fragmentation in Africa; broadly and critically explores and expounds the short-term security consequences of the operations of civil militias; and articulates a corpus of policy-relevant knowledge. The book is ideally suited to courses on African studies, security and peace studies and military studies but would also be of interest to practitioners.

This uniquely composed textbook provides a cross-disciplinary introduction to the field of homeland and civil security. It unites U.S. and international scholars and practitioners in addressing both foundational topics and risk- informed priorities in fostering secure societies. The book examines research-related foundations of homeland and civil security across national boundaries, and how those apply to addressing real-world challenges of our time. Representing different disciplines, intellectual styles, and methodological choices in meeting those challenges, chapters provide a comprehensive perspective across different approaches and levels of governance within an all-hazards framework. The book covers international experiences in border management; intelligence for homeland security; comparative political and legal frameworks for use of «drones»; risk management at the tribal level; terrorism as a strategic hybrid threat; critical infrastructure protection and resilience; historical lessons for emergency management in the homeland security era; the leadership challenge in homeland security; ethics, legal, and social issues in homeland and civil security research and practice; and examples of the scientific status of the field from the epistemic as well as the educational point of view. Including a research guide, a glossary, a bibliography, and an index, the book will be of distinctive worth to homeland security students in graduate courses, as well as to an international student community taking courses in political science, public administration, «new security studies», and security research.

Since the end of the Cold War, a series of costly civil wars, many of them ethnic conflicts, have dominated the international security agenda. This volume offers a detailed examination of four recent interventions by the international community.

"Whether they train police forces in Afghanistan or provide military assistance to governments in Africa that are battling rebel groups, private military and security companies (PMSCs) or corporations that provide security & military services for profit have been present in numerous conflicts around the globe. In 1984 only one international PMSC intervened in a civil war, in 1989 there were 15 international PMSCs present in conflict zones, while from 2004-2019 nearly 130 of such companies provided services during the Iraq war. Why do international PMSCs sometimes help with conflict termination while in other cases their intervention is associated with prolonged wars? And in what ways does market competition affect PMSCs' military effectiveness? Relying on quantitative analysis of original data on international PMSCs' involvement in civil wars from 1990-2008 and PMSCs' human rights and fraud violations in Iraq from 2004-2019, the book investigates how local and global competition impact accountability of these non-state actors and their contribution to the termination of major and minor wars"--