The Routledge handbook of security studies /

The field of strategic studies has undergone a widening and deepening of its scope in the past 20 years. It is well past time for a handbook like this one, a collection of essays at the cutting edge written by some of the foremost scholars in the field. Though no one volume can cover all topics, this one does an excellent job of finding the proper balance between theory and practice, detail and overview. The section on theoretical approaches is among the best reviews of the fields of international relations and strategic studies in print today. The sections on contemporary challenges and regional issues present essential data and expert insight. The concluding section explores responses to security challenges ranging from coercive diplomacy to global governance. This volume is an excellent summary of where the field of strategic studies has been, where it is now, and where it may be going. Overall, this is the best available introduction to the field for graduate students, academics, and practitioners. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. D. McIntosh Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania