ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by examining the changes in the international security environment in the post-Cold War and post-9/11 era. It presents the post-communist transition in Europe as a major case study of democratic peace and highlights how this process was actually shaped by multilateral co-operation. The chapter analyses the characteristics and impacts of asymmetrical threats and the rise of non-state actors in contemporary international security, and assesses both the syndrome and anatomy of ‘failed states’ as one of the most pressing concerns in international affairs. It discusses past and present democracy-promotion strategies by taking into account new regional and sub-regional trends beyond Europe, including in the Americas and Africa. The chapter also assesses some of the traps of the US unilateral ‘war on terror’ and its dangerous developments from pre-emptive military action towards preventive warfare with no definite limits or any foreseeable end. It concludes with an assessment of why the post-9/11 ‘democracy by force’ policy itself has failed.
