Re-founding hemispheric security : toward a democratic community of American States

Abstract

International security in the post Cold War presents three major tendencies: the declining of war, in classical fashion; a growing capacity of States to “build community,” particularly in the security field; and the emergence of risks, actors and threats of a new type. Authors have paid particular attention to the decreased probability of war and inter-State conflict, together with the emergence of new sources of risk and instability. Some studies emphasize strategic uncertainty, on the one hand, and the building of security partnerships, on the other, particularly at the regional level, as the predominant features of the emerging international security milieu. Some analysts have characterized these changes as a transition from the predominance of war and strategy, towards the reign of security and prevention.