The Logic of Humanitarian Arms Control and Disarmament: A Power-Analytical Approach

This novel and original book examines and disaggregates, theoretically and empirically, operations of power in international security regimes. These regimes, varying in degree from regulatory to prohibitory, are understood as sets of normative discourses, political structures and dependencies (anarchies, hierarchies, and heterarchies), and agencies through which power operates within a given security issue area with a regulatory effect. In International Relations, regime analysis has been dominated by several generations of regime theory/theorization. As this book makes clear, not only has the IR Regime Theory been of limited utility for security domain due to its heavy focus on economic and environmental regimes, but it, too, heuristically suffered from its rigid pegging to general IR Theory. It is not surprising then that the evolution of IR Regime Theory has largely been mirroring the evolution of IR Theory in general: from the neo-realist/neo-liberal institutionalist convergence regime theory; through cognitivism; to constructivist regime theory. The commitment of this book is to remedy this situation by bringing together robust power analysis and international security regimes. It provides the reader with a theoretically and empirically uncompromising and comprehensive analysis of the selected international security regimes, which goes beyond one or another school of IR Regime Theory. In doing so, it completely abandons existing, and piecemeal, analysis of regimes within the intellectual field of IR based on conventional grand/mid-range theorization.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Chapter 1. Theorizing International Security Regimes: From Three Waves of 'Isms' to the Power-Analytical Approach Chapter 2. The 19th Century Security Regime Complex Chapter 3. From Landmines to Cluster Munitions: Resurfacing and Spill-Over of Transhistorical Humanitarian Disarmament Chapter 4. Small Arms and Light Weapons: From Humanitarian Disarmament to Arms Trade Treaty Chapter 5. Humanitarianism Meets Nuclear Arms Control Chapter 6. On the Verge of Change? 'Killer Robots' and Security Regulation Conclusion

About the Author :
Nik Hynek is Full Professor specializing in International Security. He works at Metropolitan University Prague and Charles University in Prague. Anzhelika Solovyeva is a Lecturer in Strategic Studies at the Institute of Political Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences at Charles University in Prague.

Review :
A theoretical rich account of humanitarian disarmament regimes that challenges the naive optimism of their proponents, coupled with a sophisticated account of the complex power dynamics at work in seemingly progressive arms control policies and practices. Hynek and Solovyeva have breathed new life into the subject of regimes by bringing to the fore the different kinds of power. The applications to a range of security and humanitarian regimes are fascinating, penetrating, and challenges prevailing views.