Security Systems in Transition

This book aims to correct the lack of a systematic approach to the issue of conversion. While governments frequently talk of peace dividends they seem unwilling to take the necessary steps to achieve them. Part of the problem is that while the state of war has been the natural state of affairs, the state of peace is still an unknown. If it is understood as a state of affairs in which military prowess is not the primary or sole determinant of state security, then there will have to be a radical rethink in the way in which states structure their civilian and military economies. Thus conversion must be considered more than simply an economic issue, it also has military, political and social import. With this in mind, Laura Cleary has examined the way in which the United States and Russia now define their security and how this has influenced their attempts at disarmament and conversion.