Mary Henrietta Kaldor (born 16 March 1946) is a British academic, currently Professor of Global Governance at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 mill ...

, where she is also the Director of the Civil Society and Human Security Research Unit. She also teaches at the

Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals The Institut Barcelona d'Estudis Internacionals (IBEI) (Spanish: ''Instituto Barcelona de Estudios Internacionales'', English: ''Barcelona Institute of International Studies'') is an interuniversity research institute and postgraduate education c ...

(IBEI). She has been a key figure in the development of cosmopolitan democracy. She writes on globalisation,

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the Scientific method, scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities betwe ...

and

humanitarian intervention Humanitarian intervention is the use or threat of military force by a state (or states) across borders with the intent of ending severe and widespread human rights violations in a state which has not given permission for the use of force. Human ...

global civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.global governance Global governance refers to institutions that coordinate the behavior of transnational actors, facilitate cooperation, resolve disputes, and alleviate collective action problems. Global governance broadly entails making, monitoring, and enforc ...

, as well as what she calls New Wars.

Career

In 1981, Kaldor was a member of the anti-nuclear

Labour Party Defence Study Group The Labour Party Defence Study Group was a grouping within the British Labour Party established in 1975 by the party's National Executive Committee (NEC) under the chairmanship of Ian Mikardo. History The party was established at a time when Brit ...

. She was a founding member of European Nuclear Disarmament, editing its ''

European Nuclear Disarmament Journal European Nuclear Disarmament (END) was a Europe-wide movement for a "nuclear-free Europe from Poland to Portugal” that put on annual European Nuclear Disarmament conventions from 1982 to 1991. Origins The founding statement of END was the Euro ...

'' (1983–88). She was the founder and Co-Chair of the

Helsinki Citizens Assembly The Helsinki Citizens' Assembly (hCa) is an organization of citizens dedicated to peace, democracy and human rights in Europe. It is a non-governmental organization, working on the notions of fundamental rights and freedoms, peace, democracy and pl ...

, and a founding member of the

European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decis ...

. She also writes for

OpenDemocracy.net openDemocracy is an independent media platform and news website based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 2001, openDemocracy states that through reporting and analysis of social and political issues, they seek to "challenge power and encourage de ...

, belongs to the board of trustees of the

Hertie School of Governance The Hertie School (until 2019 Hertie School of Governance) is a German private, independent graduate school for governance (public policy, international affairs and data science) located in Berlin's Friedrichstraße. Hertie School is according t ...

, and is on the Editorial Board of '' Stability: International Journal of Security and Development''. She is known to admire the

Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists The Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists (in short, the Wentworth Group) is an independent group comprising Australian scientists, economists and business people with conservation interests. The name of the group comes from the venue of their ...

. In 1999 Kaldor supported international military intervention over Kosovo on humanitarian grounds, calling for

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

ground forces to follow aerial bombardment in an article for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

''. However, Kaldor had lost faith in humanitarian intervention by 2009, telling the same paper: "The international community makes a terrible mess wherever it goes":

It is hard to find a single example of humanitarian intervention during the 1990s that can be unequivocally declared a success. Especially after Kosovo, the debate about whether human rights can be enforced through military means is ever more intense. Moreover, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which have been justified in humanitarian terms, have further called into question the case for intervention.

These views were repeated in her 2013 book ''Human Security''.

Family

She is the daughter of the economist

Nicholas Kaldor Nicholas Kaldor, Baron Kaldor (12 May 1908 – 30 September 1986), born Káldor Miklós, was a Cambridge economist in the post-war period. He developed the "compensation" criteria called Kaldor–Hicks efficiency for welfare comparisons (1939), ...

'', 1 April 2008
Interview: 'The international community makes a terrible mess wherever it goes'
/ref> and Clarissa Goldschmidt, a history graduate of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the world's second-oldest university in contin ...

who studied at

Somerville College Somerville College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. Among its alumnae have been Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, Dorothy Hodgkin, ...

. She is also the sister of Frances Stewart, Professor at the Oxford Department of International Development (ODID) at Oxford. The Kaldor family moved to west Cambridge in 1950. Kaldor began her career with a B.A. in philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) from Oxford University.opendemocracy.ne
Mary Kaldor
In 2008, she married

Julian Perry Robinson Julian Perry Robinson (11 November 1941 – 22 April 2020) was a British chemist and peace researcher. Academic career Born in Jerusalem, Perry Robinson was educated at Canford School, and went up to Merton College, Oxford in 1960 to read Chemi ...

, a chemist and lawyer, who died 22 April 2020. The couple first met while both were working at

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade as well ...

(SIPRI) and joined the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

in 1971. They had two sons.

Selected bibliography

Books

* * * * * ::Second edition, ::First edition, :: ::Kaldor, Mary (2018). Global Security Cultures, UK Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: Polity Press. ISBN 9781509509218

Chapters in books

* * *

Journal articles

* *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kaldor, Mary 1946 births Academics of the London School of Economics Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford British economists British women economists Daughters of life peers Innovation economists Living people Science and Technology Policy Research alumni Hertie School people