Fully revised to incorporate recent developments, this third edition of Understanding Global Security analyses the variety of ways in which people's lives are threatened and/or secured in contemporary global politics. The traditional focus of Security Studies texts: war, deterrence and terrorism, are analysed alongside non-military security issues such as famine, crime, disease, disasters, environmental degradation and human rights abuses to provide a comprehensive survey of how and why people are killed in the contemporary world.

New to this edition:

• Greater coverage of the evolving theoretical literature on security, including more analysis of critical theory perspectives and emerging schools of thought.
• A revamp of the sections examining the causes of inter-state war and counter-terrorism strategies.
• Analysis of key recent developments including the global economic recession, Haiti earthquake of 2010 and Fukushima nuclear disaster of 2011.
• New quantitative analysis of the impact of global crime and environmental change.
• Greater evaluation of the divergences in how human security is interpreted and the future prospects for this way of thinking and acting in international relations.

User-friendly and easy to follow, this textbook is designed to make a complex subject accessible to all. Key features include:

• `Top ten’ tables highlighting the most destructive events or forms of death in that areas throughout history.
• Boxed descriptions elaborating key concepts in the fields of security and International Relations.
• `Biographical boxes’ of key individuals who have shaped security politics.
• Further reading and websites at the end of each chapter guiding you towards the most up-to-date information on the various topics.
• Glossary of political terminology.

This highly acclaimed and popular academic text will continue to be essential reading for everyone interested in security.