Human Security Studies: Theories, Methods and Themes examines the concept of human security from different theoretical and methodological perspectives and shows how they help shed light on the different themes of global intervention. Liberal perspectives, represented by global legalism and developmentalism, share the optimism that human security can be ensured and enhanced through strengthening global governance. Realists remain skeptical about this liberal vision. While also critical of the liberal promise, critical theorists and feminists offer radical perspectives on human security. All these perspectives help explain the challenges of military intervention for human protection, micro-disarmament, international criminal justice, smart sanctions, human rights and democracy promotion, and human development.
Professor Sorpong Peou is Chair of the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University (Toronto, Canada). He received his BA from the University of Waterloo (Ontario, Canada) and his MA and PhD from York University (Toronto, Canada). Formerly, he was Chair of the Department of Political Science at the University of Winnipeg (Manitoba, Canada), Professor of International Security at Sophia University (Tokyo, Japan), and a Fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (Singapore).
His major publications include Peace and Security in the Asia-Pacific (Praeger, 2010), Human Security in East Asia: Challenges for Collaborative Action, ed. (Routledge, 2008), International Democracy Assistance for Peacebuilding: Cambodia and Beyond (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007), Intervention and Change in Cambodia: Toward Democracy (St. Martin's Press, Institute of Southeast Asian Studies and Silkworms, 2001) and Conflict Neutralization in the Cambodia War: From Battlefield to Ballot-box (Oxford University Press, 1997).