Security in the interdisciplinary battle.
a. Security
Security Studies are a sub-field of two wider disciplines, Military Studies and International Relations. This thesis is focused to bring a new perspective to security, a feminist insight both in the field of security studies and applied to a specific region, but first, in order to clarify the concept of security the scope of security and the instruments that ensure it will be discussed.
Buzan Barry defines security as “freedom from threats” so the scope and the instruments are quite obscure. There is Huysmans suggesting the condensing of concepts when we refer to a particular case. The main reason a definition of security is required for this thesis is that makes possible the identification of the subject of the research, and the common conceptual distinctions underlying various conceptions about security .
In the words of David Baldwin, it is questionable whether security concept is insufficiently explained or just a contested concept, and formulated a series of questions in order to define the concept, like security for whom, security for which values, how much security, by what means, from what threats, at what cost, in what time period, useful for an appropriate analytical framework but when theory and practice are put together such perspective becomes mathematical. Wolfers believes security is a concept that can be dangerously ambiguous .
Long debates outlined two confronting approaches, of traditionalists and wideners, first adherents of the realist school of thought, define security as a freedom from any objective military threat and security studies is defined, for example, by Stephen Walt as “the studies of the threat, use, and control of military force”. Tradi...
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...be understood as emancipation and achieved, how Booth argues “by people and groups if they do not deprive others of it”. For Booth and Wyn Jones the state is not the main provider of security but one of the main causes of insecurity, during the last years far more people have been killed by their own governments than by foreign armies.
Scott Watson reconceptualise humanitarianism as a sector of security expanding the applicability of securitization theory beyond states and societies to human as referent objects, and has its procedures and logic. An existential threat to the referent object, as human life or dignity, can vary greatly depending on the security actor, it can be poverty, but also injustice as primary existential threats to large-scale loss of human life. From speech act to a pragmatic act security means philosophy, money, institutions and people.
Barnet, Richard J. “The Ideology of the National Security State”. The Massachusetts Review, Vol. 26, No. 4. 1985, pp. 483-500
In her essay “We should relinquish some liberty in exchange for security,” Mona Charen, a columnist and political analyst, speaks on the issue of security in the United States of America. She uses many significant techniques in her essay to persuade her readers of her argument. However, I feel that her essay fails to make a great argument because she relies heavily on assumptions, misses opportunities to appeal to pathos and ethos, and overall uses a degrading tone.
It is difficult to realize the harsh standards and obligations imposed upon women of different cultures. It is especially disappointing to note that women whom may seek to relieve themselves of such discriminatory practices, face little to no government support in terms of fighting inequality. Such as distinguished in text The War Against Feminism, women of Algeria must fight against patriarchal and incredibly sexist political movements, such as the “Islamic Salvation Front,” which although was banned, had won an election and the promotion of their platform’s ideas despite their notions consisting of extreme patriarchal views and their actual assassinations of individuals not compliant with their beliefs. I also strongly agreed with the United Nations decision to aid individuals from fear of the Taliban, in their stating of refusing to continue aid to Afghanistan if intense cruel practices were to continue. The interference of other government agencies in helping to promote the end of cruelty, such as was occurring by the Taliban, act as great movement of defiance against
The growth of one woman interferes with one man’s idea of being able to conquer Woman. The two main characters of the book Ladies’ Paradise named Denise and Mouret have a unique sense of love, if it really even is “love.” She is very shy and unattainable while he is charismatic and lives a greatly successful life. Her unordinary attitude creeps into Mouret’s mind, causing him to desire her at an extreme amount. Mouret is not able to conquer Denise in the same way that he does women in his department store which defeats his conquest of Woman. The idea of feminism is prominent throughout the novel since Denise is such an independent character and does not give into Mouret’s power immediately. She briefly gives Mouret a new set of eyes, allowing
Followers of Realist school of thought argue the case of 2003 Iraq war from the standpoint of power and Security. The Bush administration’s rationale for launching a pre-emptive attack against Iraq was based on two misleading assumptions: firstly, Iraq had or was developing Weapons of Mass Destruction (along with Iran and North Korea) and secondly, that it was aiding and protecting terrorist organizations like Al-Qaeda. Such a conjecture based on unsubstantiated evidence helped Bush administration conjure up a dystopian situation which justified 2003 invasion of Iraq under the pretext of “security maximization”. This explanation was given in pursuance of the realist assumption that States’ as rational actors always act in accordance with their national security interests.
Watson, B. (1956). The dangers of security: E.E. Cummings' revolt against the future. In Friedman, N. (Ed.), E.E. Cummings: A collection of critical essays (pp. 31-45). Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
...dens the understanding of international relations and correspondingly broadens the understanding of security. Built on Thayer’s and Waltz’s theory, the paper suggests that structure of the international system is central to international security and to achieve peace, suitable strategies are necessary to balance the power relations. While it should not be ignored that the Evolution theory still falls within realism realm with many other forms of complex security problems unexplained.
The contribution of the feminist standpoint in IR theory definitely sparks discussion and debate bringing forth new perspectives which demand to be heard and considered from the more ‘orthodox’ IR theories, previously privileged assumptions and preconceived ideas. This grand entry for the feminists was towards the denouement of the Cold War in the 1980’s , Kirkpatrick; influential US ambassador of the UN during that period was noted to have said that she felt like a “mouse in a man’s world”. Is this still the case with women worldwide and particularly in the West? Tickner’s groundbreaking work set the foundation and key to early feminist IR. Whilst simultaneously interrogating the core issues in mainstream IR, particularly in peace and security, contingent on feminist bases for gendered grasp of issues that have defined it. In this essay we will firstly try to identify and comment on the emergence of feminism within IR in the 80’s. Secondly, we will pin-point and analyze which contributions were of the greatest importance, predominantly via Tickner and Keohane. Finally we will look at the impact and importance of the different types of feminist theories and whether or not they have achieved at enriching our understanding of IR theory.
Wendt, Alexander. “Constructing International Politics.” International Security. Cambridge: President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1995. 71-81. Print.
My answer to these two questions is threefold: First, I assert that TSMs and INGOs can and have posed substantial normative challenges to state hegemony, most commonly the notion that the state enjoys a monopoly on representation of its citizens and their interests. Furthermore, TSMs and INGOs that employ the use of violence (particularly terrorism) breach the conventional notion that states...
Brent Steele argues that in addition to physical security, ontological security is important to states as well. Seeking ontological security means looking for a way to constitute the self: where mainstream IR theory sees “security as survival,” ontological security is “security as being”. The latter means the 'idea' or the narrative a state tells about itself. In the process of telling such a story, a historical memory can be constructed. Steele emphasises the importance of memory in sustaining a coherent and consistent 'biographical narrative' of a state: “It creates the 'person' of the state. Without narrative, without a state agent collecting the history of a nation state into a story that informs current actions, the Self of a state does not exist. /--/ conceptually, the 'idea' of the state cannot exist without thi...
In an ideal world, the concept of collective security would be adopted since it would be beneficial for every nation. However, this is not an ideal world, and the theory has been highly criticized from start to finish. Many believe that if a threat were to occur from outside the party than the theory would be useless, (3) as that state is not bounded by any rules and obligations. Another problem consistent with the theory of collective theory is that not every nation may be...
International relations (IR) is the study of relationships among countries. As an academic field it uses normative theory to provide a conceptual framework with which the discipline can be analyzed. These theories can be divided into two fields. The first, positivist/rationalist, focuses on state-level analysis to determine causal explanations of why or how certain phenomena occur. Things that are important to this type of theory are state interactions, size of military forces, balance of power, etc. The second field, post-positivism, rejects the idea that the social world can be studied in an objective and value-free way. This field focuses on constitutive questions about important components of IR. Post-positivism looks to include broader interpretations of international relations to include concepts like class and gender. Gender is an important theoretical concept of IR because women’s experiences continue to be excluded from its study. The positivist and state-centered way the discipline is constructed makes these aspects the basis for ‘mainstream’ international relations. It is under this framework that gender hierarchies privilege men’s knowledge and experiences over those of women. As a result, IR is a masculinized sphere of activity in which definitions of concepts like sovereignty, war, foreign policy, etc adhere to masculine and gendered interpretations and exclude the potential women’s experiences have to shape the discipline. Therefore, a more inclusive approach to mainstream international relations theory is necessary, one that abolishes the traditional construction and definition of key concepts. For these reasons, I will be looking at literature surrounding the gender debate in IR in order to determine if we were to...
On the one hand, national security focuses on the defense of the state from external threats, such as other state or non-state actors (such as terrorist groups and transnational gangs) (Bailey, John and Dammert, Lucia 1). Where the military is usually the institution that is entrusted with ensuring national security (Bailey, John and Dammert, Lucia 1). On the other hand, public security as the name implies, can de defined as the safeguarding of citizens and governmental institutions from violence and criminality (Uang, Randy Sunwin 27). Dangers derive from actors such as felons, terrorists, drug gangs and any individual acting against the public good who is actively contributing to the deterioration of society (Uang, Randy Sunwin 27). Responses to public security risks are mainly managed by law enforcement agencies such as the police and intelligence services (Bailey, John and Dammert, Lucia 11). Therefore, the actors that are charged with protecting it must abide by the rule of law and respect the civil rights of individuals (Herrera-Lasso, Luis 293-294). Both of which necessitate an effective law enforcement that prioritizes citizen security and protection from any extralegal or illegal coercion by state officials or other actors (Herrera-Lasso, Luis
This essay will explore and discuss the changes and progressions within the industry in the public and private sectors; although primary focus will be drawn to the private security industry, problems faced by the industry and its members as well as the