Conflict and Security provides a framework for objective analysis of contemporary international security issues. Scholars and practitioners choose the Journal as a venue to present progressive ideas on peace and security. By examining issues such as the future role of intelligence, traditional state-to-state conflict, asymmetrical threats of terrorism, weapons proliferation and weak states, Conflict and Security is at the forefront of providing contextual analysis of the issues that will challenge states, policymakers, NGOs and the leaders of the private sector in the twenty-first century.

Blind Spot:
The United States and Post-Conflict Intervention

By Robert M. Perito

Iraq was not the first time the United States was unprepared for post-intervention violence. Similar outbreaks of civilian violence occurred during the initial stage of U.S. interventions in Panama, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo. Given the importance of properly managing post-conflict interventions, it is critical that the United States find a solution to this problem. As one U.S. Army colonel put it, "The U.S. cannot be unprepared for missions it does not want, as if the lack of preparedness might prevent our going. We cannot be like children that refuse to get dressed for school." Why does the United States have a "blind spot" that results in failure to plan for the lawlessness that follows military intervention? more...

Reality Check:
The Danger of Small Arms Proliferation

By Rachel Stohl

While the world focuses on hypothetical consequences from the use of nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons, another class of weapons is actually killing hundreds of thousands and devastating entire societies every year. These weapons, known as small arms and light weapons (hereafter small arms) are truly weapons of mass destruction. The need to address small arms proliferation and misuse is just as urgent and critical as their nuclear counterparts. more...