International Security has traditionally been analysed through (neo)realist theoretical frameworks that focus exclusively on the state as the referent of security, and investigate issues as the causes of war and armed conflict, alliances, strategy, arms control and deterrence. At the same time, International Relations scholars have argued that these narrow, state-centric and military-centric approaches to security – and the concepts and discourses they rely on – are deeply implicated in the ‘imperial-racial origins of IR’ and unable to engage with contemporary security concerns related to issues such as climate justice, environmental security, food security, the Black Lives Matter movement, disinformation, ethnic strife, the evolution of terrorism, the corollaries of intervention, and the securitisation of migrants and refugees, amongst others. This course provides a critical evaluation of the traditional security studies scholarship, and introduces students to critical approaches to security, including feminist, postcolonial, poststructuralist, and emancipatory theoretical frameworks that extend beyond warfare and examine diverse modern security issues. We will analyse different sets of critical theoretical approaches and explore their analytical utility (as well as any biases/ blind spots) by investigating relevant case studies and contemporary security dilemmas. Overall, the course will enable you to recognise core differences between critical security scholarship and traditional security studies; identify and evaluate critical theories of security, and apply them to contemporary events and issues in global politics.
