Non-Traditional Security Threats and Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation
Abstract
The global commons have routinely been considered as physical spaces that are not under direct nation-state control common grassland that all must share, for example. They demand responsible management so as not to exhaust their supply (fisheries) or do irreparable harm to the world s ecosystem (species extinction, pollution of the atmosphere, contamination of potable water supplies). These spaces may also be vital to states and other global actors as they provide access and connectivity to the rest of the world (sea lines of communication). The global commons in the 21st century lexicon of security has expanded even further to consist of outer space, international waters and airspace, and cyberspace. Together the aforementioned constructs constitutes the fabric or connective tissue of the international system, as Flournoy and Brimley noted in 2009. Strategist Alfred Thayer Mahan used the term in describing the world s oceans as a great highway a wide common in his 1890 volume, The Influence of Sea Power Upon History. Mahan s viewpoints influenced security policies and military capabilities for decades. Today, as we push the envelope even further regarding our understanding and importance of the global commons, some suggest that the human species itself constitutes an essential element of the global commons and that human rights, equitable development, ethnic cleansing, and civil wars are legitimate parts of the expanding definition of the global commons. Regardless, the global commons is an important part of regional and global security and offers challenges and opportunities for cooperation as we share this planet.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 2012
- Accession Number
- ADA571356
Entities
People
- James M. Keagle
Organizations
- National Defense University