Hyperconflict: Globalization and Insecurity (Stanford Security Studies)

This book addresses two questions that are crucial to the human condition in the twenty-first century: does globalization promote security or fuel insecurity? And what are the implications for world order? Coming to grips with these matters requires building a bridge between the geoeconomics and geopolitics of globalization, one that extends to the geostrategic realm. Yet few analysts have sought to span this gulf. Filling the void, Mittelman identifies systemic drivers of global security and insecurity and demonstrates how the intense interaction between them heightens insecurity at a world level. The emergent confluence he labels hyperconflict―a structure characterized by a reorganization of political violence, a growing climate of fear, and increasing instability at a world level. Ultimately, his assessment offers an "early warning" to enable prevention of a gathering storm of hyperconflict, and the establishment of enduring peace.

James H. Mittelman is University Professor of International Affairs at American University. His recent books include Whither Globalization? The Vortex of Knowledge and Ideology (Routledge, 2004) and The Globalization Syndrome: Transformation and Resistance (Princeton University Press, 2000).