Whether we approach security dilemmas from the prism of realist, liberal or constructivist perspectives, one cannot ignore the fact that the security landscape has rapidly evolved to become intricately complex in recent years. Rising powers such as China, which initially embraced non-intervention strategies on national affairs, are increasingly involved in shaping the peace and security architecture. International prosecutorial organs such as the International Criminal Court have also altered security dynamics and the balance of power between local and international actors, particularly in Africa. Growing terrorist attacks and related responses have also produced mixed outcomes, some of which have only exacerbated violent extremism. These examples highlight the shifting nature of global security.

In The Security Arena in Africa, Tim Glawion engages with the complexities surrounding Africa's security landscape. Paying particular attention to security issues in the Central African Republic (CAR), Somaliland and South Sudan, Glawion invites discussion about how varying actors and their interactions with local and international systems contribute to the shifts in security arenas. Arguably, these cases ‘combine low degrees of state monopolization of authority and violence and a multitude of actors involved in security’ (p. 217). Glawion believes that the ‘failed state paradigm’ does not accurately capture the dynamics of security in non-monopolized settings, characteristic of many African states. This is because such approaches presume that inadequate security is due to the lack of efficient political institutions to organize societies in a manner that ensures compliance with state orders. Yet, there are local order-making processes that explain how security is created in some areas and undermined in others. Glawion refers to these processes as ‘forms of ordering’. Conceived thus, the central argument of the book is that ‘perceptions of security vary widely within and across cases, as well as over time … [and that] struggles over the forms used to order security arenas impact people's perceived levels of security’ (p. 9).

The introduction lays the terrain for studying local security arenas and order making in the three countries of interest, while the conclusion revisits the theoretical grounding of the book as well as providing chapter summaries and future research directions. The rest of the book is divided into eight chapters. The first examines the role of actors and their interactions in shaping the security landscape and situates the book's theoretical framework in contexts of ordering practices. The second provides a historical background to national and local security concerns in the target countries, with emphasis on the political history of security challenges before, during and after colonization. The next two chapters focus on problems of ordering in varying security arenas. Chapter 3 examines the nexus between ‘centres’ and ‘peripheries’ in the national security arena, and what this means in terms of international cooperation and/or foreign intervention. Challenges facing state authority/monopoly over territory are discussed at length, with CAR arguably having the weakest security apparatus (p. 90). Glawion argues that ‘historical trajectories’ and their legacies have not only shaped national security arenas differently; they have set up different ordering practices and their contestations. Chapter 4 discusses different systems of ordering and how they inform the variation of security at the local level, suggesting that dissimilarity in forms of ordering is a function of actors seeking to maximize their perceived gains (p. 112). In Chapter 5, various forms of ‘stable ordering’ are presented, which, arguably, create predictable security outcomes and ‘organized insecurity’. Chapter 6 shifts the focus to ‘fluid forms of ordering’, characterizing the degree of adaptability of actors in varying security arenas (p. 186). In Chapter 7, Glawion shows how various actors mix different types of ordering for collaborative or competitive bargaining at the local and national levels. Finally, Chapter 8 considers the benefits and pitfalls of embeddedness/detachment of actors (peacekeepers, for example) within a particular security arena.

One important feature of this book is that the discussions presented almost entirely rely on Glawion's direct engagement with everyday people whose security is often compromised. This bottom-up approach lends itself well to the topic at a time when most publications are a result of scholars’ privileged macro-level discussions with state officials on security matters. This provides insight into the often neglected ‘local cleavages’. The book also displays impressive field observations conducted over four years in nine locations within CAR, Somaliland and South Sudan. This relatively broad country coverage allows Glawion to examine why there is more security in some arenas than in others, despite sharing remarkably similar patterns of ordering. It is also important to note that these countries are not easily accessible in terms of field research. Finally, the book's structure and language allow for easy readership and engagement with the arguments presented throughout.

However, since the book draws on field data collected between 2014 and 2018, and the volume was published in 2020, one would expect a discussion on the increase in violent extremism and/or terror groups and the balance of power between actors in the centre and peripheries of countries such as Somaliland and CAR. Another aspect of Africa's security dilemma curiously missing is the role played by rising superpowers such as China. Yet, the volume acknowledges China as one of the largest contributors to the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (p. 99). One would expect these discussions to be included in the section focusing on the ‘international security arena’ (pp. 97–110). Overall, this is a well-researched book and a valuable addition to comparative security studies. It contributes to the broader discussions on the oligopolies of violence, spoilers of security and peace efforts, and interconnections between competition and security.