Following the end of the Cold War the security agenda has been transformed and redefined, academically and politically. This book focuses on the theme of protection. It moves away from the dominant question of whom or what is threatening to the crucial questions of who is to be protected, and in the case of conflicting claims, who has the capacity to define whose needs prevail.

This book poses the question of political agency in relation to some of the most significant questions raised in relation to the governance of insecurity and protection in the contemporary world. The authors have identify and explore five issues that challenge or raise a number of questions about the traditional notion that states are to protect their citizens through retaining a monopoly over the legitimate use of violence:
? The privatisation of security
? Protection and the judicial regulation of armed conflict
? Peace building, post-conflict reconstruction, and the politics of protection
? Humanitarian needs and the political agency of refugees
? Environmental protection and the politics of nature

Combining political theory and empirical case studies, this book makes a significant contribution to the study of international relations and security studies.