These notes are an introduction to Security Studies and includes the following:
Introduction of Security
Three scholars who expanded the perspective of security
Traditional Approaches to security
Non-Traditional Approaches to security
Security Studies is a discipline within International Relations (IR) that focuses on
understanding the concept of "security" and addressing threats to it.
Traditionally, it revolved around the protection of state interests and military concerns – It
was the focus of Traditional theories Realism and Liberalism:
“Protection of the state against the conflictual nature of the world”
However, the field has expanded to include broader issues such as environmental,
economic, societal, and human security. Security Studies explores both traditional threats
(like military conflict) and non-traditional threats (like natural disasters, resource scarcity,
and environmental challenges).
Security- Protection of entity from something (threat)
Three Scholars in IR expanded security perspective
a) Richard Ullman
Ullman criticized the traditional, narrow focus on military threats that dominated
the Cold War era. He argued that many non-military threats could have equally
devastating consequences for a state's security.
For example, he compared the effects of natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes) with
nuclear conflict, stating both could degrade the quality of life drastically in a short
time
In an article entitled ‘Redefining Security’ published in 1983, Ullman defined a
threat to national security as ‘an action or sequence of events that threatens
drastically and over a relatively brief span of time to degrade the quality of life for
the inhabitants of a state’
His work paved the way for broadening the definition of security to include non-
military concerns, such as economic stability and disaster management.
b) Jessica Mathews
Mathews expanded on Ullman's ideas by emphasizing the importance of global
environmental and demographic issues in security. She highlighted how
, interconnected global economic systems and environmental degradation posed
serious threats to national and global security.
"The 1990s will demand a redefinition of what constitutes national security...to
include resource, environmental, and demographic issues."
c) Barry Buzan
"People, States, and Fear" (1983, expanded in 1991)
Buzan provided a comprehensive framework for understanding security that
included both traditional and non-traditional threats. He argued that military
security is only one aspect and proposed five key sectors of security:
o Military Security: Protection against external aggression.
o Political Security: Stability of political systems and governance.
o Economic Security: Access to resources, finance, and markets.
o Societal Security: Preservation of cultural, identity, and societal
cohesion.
o Environmental Security: Protection against environmental degradation
and resource depletion.
States are not only military entities but also political, economic, societal, and
environmental ones. Security must encompass all these dimensions.
Buzan’s work significantly broadened the scope of Security Studies, influencing
the development of "Critical Security Studies" and "Human Security"
approaches. His contributions helped shift the field's focus from state-centric to
multi-dimensional analyses.
Traditional Security approaches: Realism and Liberalism
Encompasses Realist and Liberal perspectives, including variants like Classical
Realism, Neorealism, Liberal Idealism, and Neoliberal Institutionalism.
Unified by a commitment to the state as the primary referent object of analysis in
International Security Studies (ISS).
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