"As the international system approaches the new millennium, it is the non-military, so-called 'soft' dimension of security that is increasingly at the forefront of national and international agendas. Globalization, unsustainable development, arms proliferation and heightened imperatives of economic and ethno-religious self-identity have all given increased salience to dangers as diverse as terrorism, the drug trade, piracy, environmental degradation, the spread of disease and uncontrolled migration.

The book makes a comprehensive examination of each of these threat potentials, analysing those factors that underpin their growth and the complex way they interact with one another and impact on national and international security. The book also deals with the potentially problematic question of state responses to grey area phenomena.

In particular, it stresses the need for coordinated inter-agency operations, centralized intelligence operations that cross civilian and military jurisdictions and public trust at the national level, combined with fully institutionalized modes of collaboration at the international level."--BOOK JACKET.