Contemporary Security Studies

Description

Contemporary Security Studies is a uniquely engaging introduction to Security Studies, covering the key theories and contemporary issues in the field. A team of expert scholars strike a careful balance of depth and clarity, providing the essential companion for students exploring the modern security agenda.

• Offers broad, easy-to-digest coverage of all of the key theories and concepts in Security Studies
• Brings together carefully edited contributions from international experts in the field, giving students insights from a range of leading scholars
• 'Think point' boxes challenge students to question their own assumptions, and help to develop critical thinking skills
• Case study boxes encourage students to connect theory and practice by demonstrating the real-world manifestations of political issues
• Includes coverage of critical Security Studies perspectives, including poststructuralism and postcolonialism
• Considers a broad range of traditional and non-traditional security issues, from inter-state armed conflict and nuclear weapons, to security issues centring on the environment, crime and cyber-attacks
• Also available as an e-book with functionality, navigation features, and links that offer extra learning support

New to this edition

• A new Chapter 13 on popular culture introduces students to this innovative approach to Security Studies, exploring the role that it plays in shaping and understanding security-related processes, including managing conflicts, supporting transitions to peace, and its uses and limitations as a source of soft power
• A revised Chapter 12 on securitization theory traces its emergence and evolution as a framework for analysis, covering the main concepts and criticisms, and helping students to develop their understanding of constructivist approaches to security
• Chapter 27 on transnational crime has been reworked to include coverage of the 'crime-terror nexus', the relationship between organized crime and the state, and a case study focusing on Mexico, helping students to apply theory to the real world
• Every chapter has been thoroughly updated to reflect current political issues and developments in world affairs, such as the initial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and forced migration

About the Author(s)

Edited by Alan Collins, Swansea University

Alan Collins is a Professor in International Relations at Swansea University

Table of Contents

1:Introduction, Alan Collins
Part 1: Approaches to Security
2:Realism, Charles L. Glaser
3:Liberalism and Liberal Internationalism, Patrick Morgan, with Alan Collins
4:Historical Materialism, Eric Herring
5:Peace Studies, Paul Rogers
6:Social Constructivism, Christine Agius
7:Critical Security Studies: A Schismatic History, David Mutimer, with Derek Verbakel
8:Critical Security Studies II - Narratives of Security: Other Stories, Other Actors, Marshall Beier
9:Postcolonialism, Mark Laffey and Suthaharan Nadarajah
10:Human Security, Randolph B. Persaud
11:Gender, Caroline Kennedy and Sophia Dingli
12:Securitization, Catarina Thomson and Stephane Baele
13:Popular Culture, Galia Press-Barnathan
Part 2: Deepening and Broadening Security
14:Military Security, Mike Sheehan
15:Regime Security, Andreas Krieg
16:Societal Security, Paul Roe
17:Environmental Security, Geoffrey Dabelko
18:Economic Security, Gary Shiffman
19:Development and Security, Nana K. Poku and Jacqueline Therkelsen
Part 3: Traditional and Non-Traditional Security
20:Coercive Diplomacy: Countering War-Threatening Crimes and Armed Conflicts, Peter Viggo Jakobsen
21:Weapons of Mass Destruction and Proliferation, James J. Wirtz
22:Terrorism, James Lutz and Brenda Lutz
23:Humanitarian Intervention, Alex Bellamy and Stephen McLoughlin
24:Energy Security, Doug Stokes and Sam Raphael
25:The Weapons Trade, Suzette Grillot
26:Health, Stefan Elbe and Eva Hilberg
27:Transnational Crime, Nathan Jones
28:Cyber-security, Myriam Dunn Cavelty
29:Security Studies Past, Present & Future, Barry Buzan and Ole Wæver

Reviews

"A comprehensive and well-balanced introduction to the complex field of security studies, providing a wealth of conceptual and empirical material to give students a well-grounded and representative overview of a dynamic and rapidly changing area of study." - Dr Torsten Michel, University of Bristol

Additional Resources

In addition to helpful learning features within the book, the text is accompanied by online resources designed to help students to take their learning further.

For students:
- Explore relevant security issues in greater depth with additional online case studies
- Test your understanding of the key ideas and themes in each chapter with self-marking multiple-choice questions
- Expand your knowledge of the subject with web links to additional reliable sources
- Test your knowledge of key terminology using the flashcard glossary

For registered lecturers:
- Use the adaptable PowerPoint slides as the basis for lecture presentations, or as hand-outs in class