Palgrave Macmillan is preparing the publication of The Palgrave Handbook on Contemporary International Security, a reference work dedicated to the main contemporary challenges, transformations, and debates in the field of international security.
Edited by Francisco José B. S. Leandro, Laura C. Ferreira-Pereira, Luís Tomé, and Yichao Li, the volume brings together contributions from different specialists and proposes a comprehensive approach to international security, combining theoretical perspectives, case analysis, and reflection on the profound changes that characterize the current international system.
With 62 chapters, distributed in four major parts, the handbook analyzes both the traditional dimensions of security and new areas of growing relevance. The first part addresses the complexity of international security; the second is dedicated to material geographies and contemporary conflicts, including territorial disputes, resource distribution, and armed conflicts; the third focuses on so-called immaterial or diffuse geographies, encompassing energy, data, cyberspace, digital technologies, and Artificial Intelligence; and the fourth analyzes the relationship between international security, governance, and international law.
The work also pays attention to the interaction between major powers and smaller actors, allowing for a broader understanding of the diversity of interests, vulnerabilities, and strategies that characterize contemporary international relations. Among the topics analyzed are energy and maritime security, the decarbonization of the world economy, armed conflicts, populism, the war in Ukraine, Artificial Intelligence, lethal autonomous weapons systems, the Arctic, and feminist movements.
The global dimension of the publication is also evidenced by the different case studies considered, which encompass, among other areas, the United States, China, Europe, Brazil, the South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone (ZOPACAS), the Gulf of Guinea, and the Horn of Africa. In this way, the publication seeks to relate the major conceptual debates of International Security to the political, strategic, legal, and technological dynamics that currently condition states, international organizations, and other actors in the international system.
Published by Palgrave Macmillan Singapore, The Palgrave Handbook on Contemporary International Security has approximately 1,336 pages and is a contribution of particular interest to researchers, professors, students, and professionals in the fields of International Relations, Political Science, Security Studies, Strategic Studies, International Law, and Global Governance, featuring contributions from António Tavares, João Tavares and Paulo Vicente.
The digital edition (eBook) is scheduled for publication on 14th of October of 2026, while the hardcover edition is scheduled for 15th of January of 2027.