ABSTRACT
The end of the Cold War, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the emergence of China and (potentially) India as major economic and, increasingly, political players, globalization, the rise of political Islam and the events of 11 September 2001, the re-emergence of the new Christian right and neo-cons in the US and Europe’s inability to assert itself as a single, powerful actor in international politics, among other factors, have contributed to an international security environment that is fluid, relatively unstable, offering state and non-state actors opportunities but also bearing serious risks. In the post-Cold War period, security is more widely defined and the list of possible problems, as well as the interaction between them, has grown almost at an exponential rate.2 ‘New’ security problems were added to more traditional ones, such as ethnic conflicts, nationalist struggles and internal conflict among groups and tribes, over the distribution of state power and resources.3
