Security studies

Security studies, also known as international security studies, is an academic sub-field within the wider discipline of international relations that studies organized violence, military conflict, national security, and international security.[1][2]

This article is about the discipline within the field of international relations. For the study of security management, see security management studies.
For the journal, see Security Studies (journal).
See also: National security and International security
The United Nations Security Council Chamber in New York, also known as the Norwegian Room

While the field (much like its parent field of international relations) is often meant to educate students who aspire to professional careers in think tanks, consulting, defense contractors, human rights NGOs or in government service positions focused on diplomacy, foreign policy, conflict resolution and prevention, emergency and disaster management, intelligence, and defense, it can also be tailored to students seeking to professionally conduct academic research within academia, or as public intellectuals, pundits or journalists writing about security policy.

History

The origin of the modern field of security studies has been traced to the period between World War I and World War II.[3] Quincy Wright's 1942 book, Study of War, was the culmination of a major collaborative research project dating back to 1926.[3] Scholars such as William T. R. Fox, Bernard Brodie, Harold Lasswell, Eugene Staley, Jacob Viner, and Vernon Van Dyke were involved in the project.[3] Security studies courses were introduced at Columbia University, Princeton, the University of North Carolina, Northwestern, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania in the 1940s.[3] 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 within international relations during the Cold War, examples from the era including the academic works of mid-20th century realist political scientists such as Thomas Schelling[4] and Henry Kissinger,[5] who focused primarily on nuclear deterrence.

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 within political science and public policy programs, it is increasingly common to take an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating knowledge from the fields of history, geography (stressing classical geopolitics), military sciences, and criminology.

The field of security studies is related to strategic studies and military science, both of which are frequently published in security studies journals.[6]

Journals

International Security and Security Studies are the most prominent journals dedicated specifically to security studies.[7] Other security studies journals include:

See also

References
  1. Walt, Stephen M. (1991). "The Renaissance of Security Studies". International Studies Quarterly. 35 (2): 211–239. doi:10.2307/2600471. ISSN 0020-8833. JSTOR 2600471.
  2. Williams, Paul (2012) Security Studies: An Introduction, Abingdon: Routledge
  3. Baldwin, David A. (1995). "Security Studies and the End of the Cold War". World Politics. 48 (1): 117–141. doi:10.1353/wp.1995.0001. ISSN 0043-8871. JSTOR 25053954. S2CID 154382276.
  4. "War and Peace in the Nuclear Age; At the Brink; Interview with Thomas Schelling, 1986". openvault.wgbh.org.
  5. Buzan, Barry; Hansen, Lene (2009-08-27). The Evolution of International Security Studies. ISBN 9781139480765.
  6. Betts, Richard K. (1997). "Should Strategic Studies Survive?". World Politics. 50 (1): 7–33. doi:10.1017/S0043887100014702. ISSN 0043-8871. JSTOR 25054025. S2CID 145289684.
  7. 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. ISSN 0963-6412. S2CID 219437237.

Sources
  • Williams, Paul (2008) Security Studies: An Introduction, Abingdon: Routledge
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