Adapting for Survival: Global Security from Sarajevo to Maastricht to Rio

Simon Dalby is a research associate at the Centre for International
Studies at Simon Fraser University.

Each year the Canadian Institute of Strategic Studies holds a seminar in
which invited speakers discuss current international security issues and
muse about possible events and policies for the forthcoming year. This
volume presents the proceedings of the seminar held in late 1992. It
includes lengthy summaries of the discussions that followed each
presentation. It also includes a useful appendix of important
international documents dating from 1992, including the Rio declaration
and the UN Secretary General’s report on “An Agenda for Peace.”

Discussions in this volume include Bernard Wood, former director of
the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security, on
“developing a relevant security framework for the 21st century”;
David Haglund, from Queen’s University, on the implications of closer
European co-operation resulting from the Maastricht treaties; Earle
McCurdy, a delegate to the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, on the
security implications of the collapse of fish stocks off Newfoundland;
General John de Chastelain on the role of armed forces in the 21st
century; Glenn Brown, a Canadian liaison officer to NATO, on the role of
international security organizations after the Cold War; David
Stewart-Patterson, a business journalist, on international business
matters in the new international climate; and lastly, Barbara McDougall,
minister for external affairs, on the implications of the new security
environment for Canada.

The style of all the presentations is relatively accessible. General
policy issues rather than technical details are the focus—an emphasis
that makes this collection understandable to a wide audience but may
disappoint specialists in the international relations field. One obvious
criticism of the volume (which was raised by an audience member in one
of the discussion periods) is that, given the title’s reference to
matters of specifically global security, there is an absence of
sustained commentary on matters of relevance to developing countries or
to Asia. The focus of most of the proceedings remains “Eurocentric.”
Despite this limitation, the book clearly demonstrates the complexities
of international security policy.