Suchergebnisse

Michael Mosser's essay presents a strong brief for a constructive relationship between the academy and military and security institutions. Unless scholars join the security debate they won't have much of a voice in it. Much of the concern in the academy about being used or corrupted by the military is based on a misconception. Let's call it by its name: a prejudice. Too many academics think that senior military people are hawks, and not particularly smart or thoughtful ones. But this stereotype more often fits the civilians in the national security institutions than the military. And it's exactly those civilians who will dominate the idea market of national security and international order if academics withdraw from it.

Redefining European Securityis a collection of essays concerned with changing perspectives on peace and political stability in Europe since the end of the Cold War, in both the "hard" security terms of military capacity and readiness and in the realm of "soft" security concerns of economic stability and democratic reform. European governments, the European Union, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are dealing with the fundamental problem of determining the very parameters of Europe, politically, economically, and institutionally. This book defines security as the efforts undertaken by national governments and multilateral institutions, beginning with the end of the Cold War and the reunification of Germany, to continue to protect European populations from acts of war and politically-motivated violence in light of the dissolution of the imminent political threat posed to Western Europe by the Soviet Union, 1945-1991 Together these essays assess the progress made in Europe towardpreventing conflict, as well as in ending conflict when it occurs, after the abrupt passing of a situation in which the source and nature of a conflict were highly predictable and the emergence of new circumstances in which potential security threats are multiple, variable, and difficult to measure. Contemporary Europe is a mixture of old and new, of arrested and accelerated history. Europe's governments and institutions have been only partly successful in meeting new security challenges, to a high degree because of failing unity and political will. "Yesterday, Europe only just avoided perishing from imperial follies and frenzied ideologies," wrote the late Raymond Aron in 1976, "she could perish tomorrow through historical abdication."

In its transition from a security receiver to a security provider, Albania has undertaken important reforms in its security, defence and foreign policy sectors. The country joined NATO in 2009. It fully aligns with the EU's common defence and security policy, contributes to international crisis management and peacekeeping missions, and continues to play a constructive and moderating role for stability in the region. Nevertheless, key challenges remain in its domestic vulnerabilities and incapacities. This chapter looks at the Albanian security context, the threats it faces and their complexity, and the major relevant discourses, reforms and practices. It also discusses the future shifts that will be necessary to prioritize and practice security in Albania.