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Where the Evidence Leads develops a new theory of "empirical realism" to enable the United States to respond more effectively to rising security threats than do present policies. It shows that more US security benefits are likely to result from maximizing the "causes" or correlates of peace than from maximizing US military power, the usual recommendation of US policymakers and "political realists." Ironically, a global grand strategy for human security, with US national security folded into it, is likely to produce more security for the United States than a national security policy pursued as an end in itself. Global human security policies can achieve sustainable peace in contexts where a national grand strategy for US security often fails.
List of contents
- Contents
- Tables
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction: Are Peace and Security Really Possible?
- Chapter 1: Understanding New Global Realities
- 1.1: War: Declining Utility
- 1.2: Non-State Actors: Rising Power
- 1.3: Non-Military Threats: Increasing Insecurity
- 1.4: National Military Competition: Growing Vulnerabilities
- 1.5: Nonviolent Campaigns: Offering Possibilities
- 1.6: The Rule of Law: Seeking Traction
- 1.7: Global Governance: Needing Nurture
- Chapter 2: Conceiving a Security-Enhancing Theory
- 2.1: Respecting Empirical Reality
- 2.2: Respecting Human Dignity
- 2.3: Expanding Peacebuilding Theory
- 2.4: Recognizing Nationalism's Help and Hindrance
- 2.5: Cosmopolitanizing Nationalism
- 2.6: Open Questions
- Chapter 3: Watching National Policies Fail
- 3.1: Misaligning Military Power and Security
- 3.2: Misaligning Economic Assets and Abolition of Poverty
- 3.3: Misaligning Economic Competition and Cooperation
- 3.4: Misaligning Environmental Assets and Environmental Needs
- 3.5: Misaligning the Power of Law and Global Security
- Chapter 4: Recognizing Structural Breakdown
- 4.1: Bringing the Tragedy of the Commons
- 4.2: Forgetting the Reciprocity of Nuremburg
- 4.3: Missing Opportunities for a "New Era"
- 4.4: Ignoring Deficiencies of the Nation-State
- 4.5: Recognizing the Desirability and Impossibility of World Government
- 4.6: Considering a New System
- 4.7: Hanging onto Diplomatic Habits
- 4.8: Considering a Global Grand Strategy
- Chapter 5: Developing a Security-Enhancing Strategy
- 5.1: Reducing Fears
- 5.2: Emphasizing Human Security
- 5.3: Respecting Reciprocity
- 5.4: Implementing Equity
- 5.5: Strengthening Legal Muscles
- 5.6: Growing Global Governance
- 5.7: Signs of Hope
- Chapter 6: Fostering System Change
- 6.1: Transcending Hyper-Independence
- 6.2: Enlarging the Security Community
- 6.3: Delivering More than National Governments
- 6.4: Disciplining Sovereignty
- 6.5: Enlivening Peace
- Chapter 7: Designing Life-Enhancing Architecture
- 7.1: Strengthening International Law
- 7.2: Expanding Global Monitoring
- 7.3: Establishing Multinational Police Enforcement
- 7.4: Beginning Global Legislative Conversations
- 7.5: Achieving Economic Well-being for the Poor
- 7.6: Improving Environmental Health
- Chapter 8: Building Human Security
- 8.1: Bolstering U.S. Democracy
- 8.2: Cosmopolitanizing National Interests
- Chapter 9: Where the Evidence Leads
- 9.1: Weighing National Security and Human Security
- 9.2: Universalizing Respect for Human Dignity
- 9.3: Finding Empowerment in Human Rights
- 9.4: Increasing Transnational Cooperation
- 9.5: Seeking Quality Peace
- 9.6: Exerting Influence for Human Security
- 9.7: "Working Toward a World Without War"
- 9.8: Realizing the Vision
- Endnotes
- Bibliography
- Index
About the author
Robert C. Johansen is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame in the Keough School of Global Affairs and Senior Fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.
Summary
By shifting American security policy away from maximizing military power for the United States and toward maximizing human security for all, policymakers and citizens can also maximize national security for the United States and sustainable peace for the world.
Why do war and political violence persist? Political realists argue that violent conflict and the struggle for power are inherent in the international system, and there is little we can do but manage it. However, as Robert Johansen argues in this path-breaking work, there are other ways forward. In Where the Evidence Leads, Johansen develops an "empirical realist" theory to enable the United Sates to respond more effectively to rising security threats. Together, peace research and security studies show that more security benefits are likely to result from maximizing the "causes" or correlates of peace than from maximizing military power. Ironically, a global grand strategy for human security, with national security folded into it, is likely to produce more security for the United States than a national security strategy. Peace reigns when states implement peace correlates, which range from addressing all nations' security fears to making life more predictable through better global governance. This approach, respectful of forgotten insights from Hans Morgenthau and others, revolutionizes thinking about national security policy by bringing it into a human security framework. The analysis shows that the anarchic, militarized balance-of-power system can be gradually changed with help from enhanced lawmaking, enforcement, and governance capacities. This thought-provoking book builds bridges between past policies-many of which have failed-and more deft ways of handling new realities that focus on building peace. In a world of threats, this book opens doors onto a future of sustainable peace, security, and hope.
Additional text
In this ambitious and masterful study, Johansen advances a set of sweeping principles and strategies for peace-building and security in the twenty-first century.
