Losing Control: Global Security in the 21st Century, Third Edition

by Paul Rogers

When   Losing Control was first published a decade ago it was years ahead of its time. Its argument was simple -- the real causes of global insecurity were the widening socio-economic divide, global marginalization and environmental limitations, especially climate change and conflict over energy resources. Paul Rogers, one of the most original thinkers on international security, pointed to a world in which irregular warfare from the margins would prevent powerful states from maintaining their position. He even predicted accurately how the United States would respond to a catastrophic attack. The new edition brings the whole analysis right up to date, arguing persuasively that the world's elite cannot maintain control and that a far more emancipatory and sustainable approach to global security has to be developed.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2000

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Paul Rogers is Professor of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford and Global Security Consultant with Oxford Research Group (ORG). He has worked in the field of international security, arms control and political violence for over 30 years. He lectures at universities and defence colleges in several countries and has written or edited 26 books, including Global Security and the War on Terror: Elite Power and the Illusion of Control (Routledge, 2008) and Why We're Losing the War on Terror (Polity, 2008). Since October 2001 he has written monthly Briefing Papers on international security and the "war on terror" for ORG. He is also a regular commentator on global security issues in both the national and international media, and is openDemocracy’s International Security Editor.

In the 1960s he worked with the Haslemere Group, an early pressure group on trade and development issues before embarking on an academic career first at Huddersfield and then at Bradford. [wikipedia]

Reviews

[Kenneth Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I find this short book very fascinating to read. One must be aware, however, that many of the author's information are a little dated and may distort or even omit some new realities since its publication in the year 2000. North Korea was still not a nuclear state, Iraq was still believed to have pushed forward the development of "biological weapons," the US was still grasping its strategy against the rise of China (China was seen as the new Soviet Union), etc. The two things that stand out are the author's analysis of the effects of income inequality and climate change to the future of social and political stability. Overall, this is a dated book but it is still useful if one is seeking for an understanding of the US military developments prior to the events on 9/11.

[Tom Wise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the 4th edition which was out this year. This book focuses on the post Cold War landscape, a landscape where the 'enemy' would change from the USSR to a number of small radical groups. It follows through to the attacks on the Twin Towers, the subsequent 4 failed wars (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria), the rise of ISIS, and the COVID pandemic. A really good analysis of the west's infatuation with neoliberalism and their outright refusal to embrace environmental, economic, or military change.

[Tim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written on the cusp of the new millennium this book tries to describe the great shift occurring in international security.

[Albin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very interesting topic, but wastes too much time going into uninteresting details about various military equipment which ultimately quell the overall quality of this very short book.