Security

David A. Welch is University Research Chair and Professor of Political Science at the Balsillie School of International Affairs, University of Waterloo. His previous books include Justice and the Genesis of War (Cambridge University Press, 1993), which won the 1994 Edgar S. Furniss Award for an Outstanding Contribution to National Security Studies, and Painful Choices: A Theory of Foreign Policy Change (2005), which was the inaugural winner of the International Studies Association International Security Studies Section Best Book Award. He is currently co-editor of the Cambridge University Press journal, International Theory.

'This book offers a masterclass in understanding the meanings and implications of the concept of security, taking the reader on a deep intellectual journey into the underpinnings of this fundamental concern. Welch converses with the reader as he challenges convention and forces us to reconsider what it means to be 'secure' and therefore how to assess and understand insecurity. Beautifully written, the movement between philosophical and theoretical discussion and carefully rendered empirical materials provides the reader with remarkable insight into this most basic concept in both the scholarship and praxis of world politics.' David Dewitt, University Professor Emeritus, York University

• Introduction; 1. The meaning of 'security'; 2. What is worth securing, and why?; 3. Ecospheric security; 4. State security; 5. Cultural security; 6. Human security; Conclusion.