Security studies
Security studies,also known asinternational security studies,is an academic sub-field within the wider discipline ofinternational relationsthat studies organized violence, military conflict,national security,andinternational security.[1][2]
While the field (much like its parent field of international relations) is often meant to educate students who aspire to professional careers inthink tanks,consulting,defense contractors,human rightsNGOsor ingovernmentservice positions focused ondiplomacy,foreign policy,conflict resolutionand prevention, emergency anddisaster management,intelligence,anddefense,it can also be tailored to students seeking to professionally conduct academic research within academia, or aspublic intellectuals,punditsorjournalistswriting aboutsecurity policy.[3]
History
[edit]The origin of the modern field of security studies has been traced to the period between World War I and World War II.[4]Quincy Wright's 1942 book,Study of War,was the culmination of a major collaborative research project dating back to 1926.[4]Scholars such as William T. R. Fox, Bernard Brodie, Harold Lasswell, Eugene Staley, Jacob Viner, and Vernon Van Dyke were involved in the project.[4]Security studies courses were introduced at Columbia University, Princeton, the University of North Carolina, Northwestern, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania in the 1940s.[4]Think tanks, such as the RAND Corporation, played an influential role in post-WWII security studies in the United States.[1]The field rapidly developed withininternational relationsduring theCold War,examples from the era including the academic works of mid-20th centuryrealistpolitical scientists such asThomas Schelling[5]andHenry Kissinger,[6]who focused primarily onnuclear deterrence.[citation needed]
Some scholars have called for expanding security studies to include topics such as economic security, environmental security and public health. Stephen Walt has argued against this expansion, saying it would undermine the field's intellectual coherence.[1]While the field is mostly contained withinpolitical scienceandpublic policyprograms, it is increasingly common to take an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating knowledge from the fields ofhistory,geography(stressing classicalgeopolitics), military sciences, andcriminology.[citation needed]
The field of security studies is related tostrategic studiesandmilitary science,both of which are frequently published in security studies journals.[7]
Book series
[edit]The'Studies in Asian Security',byStanford University Press,is one of the most prominent book series on Asian security studies.[8]
Journals
[edit]International SecurityandSecurity Studiesare the most prominent journals dedicated specifically to security studies.[9]Other security studies journals include:
- African Security
- Armed Forces & Society
- Asian Security
- Civil Wars
- Comparative Strategy
- Conflict Management and Peace Science
- Contemporary Security Policy
- Defence and Peace Economics
- Defence Studies
- European Security
- European Journal of International Security
- Intelligence and National Security
- International Peacekeeping
- Journal of Conflict Resolution
- Journal of Global Security Studies
- Journal of Peace Research
- Journal of Strategic Studies
- Naval War College Review
- Parameters
- Perspectives on Terrorism
- Security Dialogue
- Small Wars & Insurgencies
- Strategic Studies Quarterly(renamed "Æther: A Journal of Strategic Airpower & Spacepower" as from 2022)
- Studies in Conflict and Terrorism
- Survival
- Terrorism and Political Violence
- Texas National Security Review
- The RUSI Journal
- The Washington Quarterly
See also
[edit]- Human security
- International relations theory
- International security
- Peace and conflict studies
- Critical security studies
- Feminist security studies
- Strategic studies
- Military science
References
[edit]- ^abcWalt, Stephen M. (1991)."The Renaissance of Security Studies".International Studies Quarterly.35(2): 211–239.doi:10.2307/2600471.ISSN0020-8833.JSTOR2600471.
- ^Williams, Paul (2012)Security Studies: An Introduction,Abingdon: Routledge
- ^Rossi, Norma; Riemann, Malte, eds. (2024-03-15).Security Studies: An Applied Introduction.SAGE.ISBN9781529615548.
- ^abcdBaldwin, David A. (1995)."Security Studies and the End of the Cold War".World Politics.48(1): 117–141.doi:10.1353/wp.1995.0001.ISSN0043-8871.JSTOR25053954.S2CID154382276.
- ^"War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; At the Brink; Interview with Thomas Schelling, 1986".openvault.wgbh.org.
- ^Buzan, Barry; Hansen, Lene (2009-08-27).The Evolution of International Security Studies.ISBN9781139480765.
- ^Betts, Richard K. (1997)."Should Strategic Studies Survive?".World Politics.50(1): 7–33.doi:10.1017/S0043887100014702.ISSN0043-8871.JSTOR25054025.S2CID145289684.
- ^Webmaster."Series: STUDIES IN ASIAN SECURITY".www.sup.org.Retrieved2024-07-05.
- ^Hoagland, Jack; Oakes, Amy; Parajon, Eric; Peterson, Susan (2020-05-13). "The Blind Men and the Elephant: Comparing the Study of International Security Across Journals".Security Studies.29(3): 393–433.doi:10.1080/09636412.2020.1761439.ISSN0963-6412.S2CID219437237.
Sources
[edit]- Williams, Paul (2008).Security Studies: An Introduction.Abingdon: Routledge.ISBN978-0-415-78281-4.
- Rossi, Norma; Riemann, Malte, eds. (2024).Security Studies: An Applied Introduction.London: SAGE.ISBN9781529615548.