ABSTRACT

The euphoria over the end of the Cold War has been replaced by growing concerns over the nature of new and enduring security considerations faced by developed and developing countries alike. Enduring concerns with traditional political–military security issues such as weapons proliferation, terrorism, regional conflicts, and nationalism have been intensified with the fragmentation of the Soviet empire. These political–military considerations also vie with those generated by nontraditional security issues—including international economic challenges, the global environment, illicit drug trafficking, international organized crime, and global epidemics of disease. The resultant current disarray in national security policies around the world reflects the difficult task of prioritizing such threats in the absence of the (albeit simplified) ordering principles provided by the Cold War. In this context, the assessment of the relative importance of contending security threats is crucial.