A Bargain for Humanity: Global Security by 2000

Paul D. Dickson is a post-doctoral fellow in military history at the
Department of National Defence.

In this well-written and highly selective view of contemporary
political, demographic, and military strategic developments, Roche
contends that the key to attaining global security is deceptively
simple: use the United Nations to enforce comprehensive international
laws and at the same time develop policies that will encourage complete
global disarmament, equitable economic and social development in the
Third World, and environmental protection. The recognition that
militarism, nuclear-deterrence strategy, and national self-interest are
redundant concepts in the post–Cold War era is central to Roche’s
agenda.

Roche argues convincingly that the definition of global security must
be broadened to address the social, economic, and environmental issues
that are sometimes at the root of armed conflict. The author also
identifies many of the paradoxes and hypocrisies inherent in the
industrialized West’s post–Cold War search for some sort of “world
order.” He also makes a strong case that the economic disparity
between the North and the South threatens to become the next major
global imbroglio. Overall, he is right to contend that the end of the
50-year superpower ideological conflict provides a window of opportunity
for change.

Two problems emerge as the argument develops, however. First, the study
is ahistorical; that is, it is rooted in the Clausewitzian assumption
that all armed conflict emerges as an extension of state politics. A
number of significant historical studies have suggested, however, that
warfare is a cultural phenomenon. Elimination of war as a human activity
thus becomes more than an act of political will; recent ethnic and
tribal conflicts are clearly not all rooted in concerns about economic
equality. The second major problem is the author’s sparing use of
empirical methods to make a point; instead of providing evidence, he
tends to use quotes that simply reiterate his interpretations. Nor does
he explain how Canada is expected to simultaneously decrease its defence
budget and enhance its contribution to UN peacekeeping.

Despite some thought-provoking ideas, all too often the text descends
into preachy rhetoric. Arguing that states must put “self-interest”
aside and create the political will to activate international bodies to
prevent war, create economic equality, and prevent environmental
degradation does little to enhance our understanding of why they do not,
and how they could.