A Feminist Call to Be Radical: Linking Women's Health and Planetary Health

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Maria Tanyag
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
Authoritarian Leadership ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Economic Recessions ◽  
Food Economy

iwishi couldw riteth epoemi wantor eadina timeo fcrisis {repeat} ineed towriteth epoemi wantor eadina timeo fcrisis {repeat} thisi snotth epoemi needtow riteina timeo fcrisis {repeat} thisi sjustat est ofawri terina timeo fcrisis {repeat} —Teresia Teaiwa (2013) Reflecting on the two previous conversations in Politics & Gender (2015 and 2017) regarding the diverging paths in global political economy and security studies that feminist international relations (IR) scholars have taken, I am reminded of Teresia Teaiwa's poetry, which for me speaks about how crisis gives birth to the radical starting points of our feminist inquiries. We are all undoubtedly on the cusp of ever-intensifying forms of insecurities, and peoples who have least contributed to their creation and hastening are bearing the worst impacts. It is projected that by 2100, the compounded threats that humanity will face as a result of climate change will be in multitudes across five main human systems: health, water, food, economy, infrastructure, and security (Cramer et al. 2018; Mora et al. 2018, 106). The complex consequences of climate change demand an approach that encompasses the interaction effects of different risks and hazards. However, across natural and social sciences so far, the norm has been to focus on specific aspects of human life and to examine hazards–including conflict and violence—in isolation from one another. We then run the risk of misleading ourselves with partial, if not incorrect, assessments of the global processes surrounding climate change. In particular, we are yet to understand the multiscalar dynamics of environmental degradation and extreme weather as they are entangled with other crises such as armed conflicts, health pandemics, economic recessions, and resurgences of authoritarian leadership. Whether feminist or not, we simply cannot afford to think in “camps” instead of “bridges” given the nature of the multiple crises we as humanity are facing. As Anna M. Aganthangelou (2017, 741) points out, “[g]lobal politics are never just ‘economic’ or ‘security’ issues,” so the kind of assumptions we hold and how these inform the questions we raise need to “attend to the highest stake of politics: existence.”

Realizm i liberalizm w badaniach nad bezpieczeństwem i polityką bezpieczeństwa państwa

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-54
Author(s):  
Marzena Czernicka
Keyword(s):  
General Theory ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
Methodological Foundation ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Points Of Interest ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Theoretical Paradigms

Security issues have always been one of the main points of interest of all states. Scientifically, this issue can be researched using a wide range of perspectives. Security studies use much from the general theory of international relations. The field uses theoretical paradigms and concrete methods of research. In this article, a wide approach to the issue of security and security policy is presented. In accordance with the theoretical-methodological foundation of realist and liberal theories, this article inquires in what way research concerning the issues of security and security policy of contemporary states can be conducted.

scholarly journals Arctic (in)security and Indigenous peoples: Comparing Inuit in Canada and Sámi in Norway

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (6) ◽  
pp. 461-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilfrid Greaves
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Arctic Region ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Related Field ◽  
Security Issues

While international relations has increasingly begun to recognize the political salience of Indigenous peoples, the related field of security studies has not significantly incorporated Indigenous peoples either theoretically or empirically. This article helps to address this gap by comparing two Arctic Indigenous peoples – Inuit in Canada and Sámi in Norway – as ‘securitizing actors’ within their respective states. It examines how organizations representing Inuit and Sámi each articulate the meaning of security in the circumpolar Arctic region. It finds that Inuit representatives have framed environmental and social challenges as security issues, identifying a conception of Arctic security that emphasizes environmental protection, preservation of cultural identity, and maintenance of Indigenous political autonomy. While there are some similarities between the two, Sámi generally do not employ securitizing language to discuss environmental and social issues, rarely characterizing them as existential issues threatening their survival or wellbeing. Drawing on securitization theory, this article proposes three factors to explain why Inuit have sought to construct serious challenges in the Arctic as security issues while Sámi have not: ecological differences between the Canadian and Norwegian Arctic regions, and resulting differences in experience of environmental change; the relative degree of social inclusion of Inuit and Sámi within their non-Indigenous majority societies; and geography, particularly the proximity of Norway to Russia, which results in a more robust conception of national security that restricts space for alternative, non-state security discourses. This article thus links recent developments in security studies and international relations with key trends in Indigenous politics, environmental change, and the geopolitics of the Arctic region.

THE ROLE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND STRATEGIC STUDIES IN CONTEMPORARY SOCIAL SCIENCES: A CASE STUDY OF PAKISTAN

2015 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-51
Author(s):  
Nazir Hussain
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Academic Discipline ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
National Society ◽  
International Affairs ◽  
The Status ◽  
Peace And Conflict Resolution ◽  
Strategic Studies

Since the establishment of International Relations as an academic discipline in 1918, it has undergone great transformations. The end of World War-II with devastated nuclear technology brought forth national security perspectives impacting the study of IR and giving birth to strategic and security studies as specialized sub-disciplines. Presently the discipline of IR has very distinct and specialized sub-disciplines such as Strategic Studies, Security Studies, Peace and Conflict Resolution and Area Studies. In Pakistan, the first institute dealing with international affairs was established in 1947 and the first teaching department at Karachi University was formed in 1958. However, it suffered due to general apathy by the governments and public alike. In 1970s, Pakistan’s security matrix compelled to create Area Study Centers and Strategic Studies departments. Later, in early 2000s, electronic media played an important role in popularizing these disciplines. Lately, the HEC has established a Consortium of Social Sciences Universities in Pakistan to elevate the status of Social Sciences and launched various scholarship schemes to meet the challenge of qualified human resource. However, there is a need to establish an Academy of Social Sciences and a National Society of International Relations to promote these disciplines on strong financial and institutional footings.

Paradigms of Cognition in Security Sciences

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-21
Author(s):  
Andrzej Glen
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International Relations Theory ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
Spatial Context ◽  
Ontological Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject

The article outlines difficulties related to the paradigm of cognition in security sciences, which have been generalised by asking about the paradigm that allows to study security of various entities and to obtain progress of knowledge about this fragment of reality. Then, a set of paradigms typical for the social sciences, disciplines: political and administrative sciences, international relations theory sub-discipline: security studies and management and quality sciences were analysed and evaluated using a system of hypothetical and assertion-deductive methods. The subject, time and spatial context of security of entities, the subject scope of security sciences and the ontological approach to the understanding of beings in the reality of security of entities were outlined. The usefulness of analysed and evaluated paradigms in cognition of security was assessed in this context. Finally, a complementary paradigm of cognition in security sciences was proposed and its usefulness in relation to multi-paradigmatic cognition was demonstrated.

scholarly journals Women and Conflict Studies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Best
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Feminist Theory ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Conflict Studies ◽  
The Public ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
National Office ◽  
Political Office ◽  
Attitudes Toward War

Traditionally, women have been viewed as having little agency in wars and conflicts. Women were thought neither to cause the wars nor to fight them. When women were considered at all by scholars of war, they were conceived of primarily as victims. As women gained the franchise and ultimately began to be elected into political office in advanced democracies, some scholars began to consider the foreign policy implications of this—that is, do women’s attitudes toward war and defense policy differ from those of men and do these views produce different outcomes at the ballot box? Furthermore, do women behave differently with regard to security issues once in national office? Does their presence change the way their male colleagues vote on these issues? In recent decades, scholarship emerging first from critical feminist theory and later from positivist political scientists has begun to look more explicitly for women’s roles, experiences, and influences on and in conflict. This work has led to the recognition that, even when victimized in war, women have agency, and to the parallel conclusion that men’s agency is not as complete as scholars, practitioners, and the public have often assumed. This bibliography provides an overview of the development of women and conflict literature as well as several prominent themes and questions within the literature. It is of necessity incomplete and interested scholars are encouraged to review related articles in Oxford Bibliographies in International Relations, such as “Feminist Security Studies” by Kristen P. Williams, and “Women and Peacemaking/Peacekeeping” by Sabrina Karim and Kyle Beardsley.

scholarly journals Legal protection of Germany's national interests in the field of environmental security: the evolution of approaches

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Svitlana Muravyova
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Environmental Policy ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Security Policy ◽  
Human Life ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The State ◽  
Peace Building

It is widely recognised that climate change is having malign effects on human life. Climate change is a global issue, but the political action necessary to address it is inevitably local and national as well as international. The security dilemma is one of the most important theoretical ideas in international relations. The content of security policy is evolving because "security" is a social structure, the content and structure of which is constantly changing depending on the transformation of existing and the emergence of new threats and challenges (climate change, destruction of the ozone layer, desertification, fresh water shortages, etc. - the list of current environmental problems in the XXI century is increasingly supplemented by new threats. Scholars, policy-makers, and activists have proposed broadening use of the concept security beyond its traditional military focus to take into account environmental threats that seriously jeopardize human well-being. This paper explores how ecological and climate problems have fundamentally changed the way we think about security. The non-physical security, diversification of threats, and the salience of identity are key effects of globalization in the security realm. These security effects translate into certain behavioral tendencies in a Germany foreign policy that have thus far not been studied in the literature. The claim that environmental factors should be integrated into the concept of security was first made in the early 1980s.  In the late twentieth - early twenty-first century the concept of security has been expanded and applied to address many of the most important issues of international relations theory and security policy. Environmental issues are not only to be treated as non-military threats to the security of societies, but can also work to promote cooperation and peace-building. In modern conditions, the ability of the state system to respond to environmental hazards is criticized, and therefore fundamentally different management structures are proposed as a replacement for it. Therefore, targeted climate protection policies at the international and regional levels, as well as at the national and local levels, are needed to effectively address environmental and climate threats and challenges. Germany positions itself as a regional and world leader in the field of environmental protection and climate. The idea of ​​caring for the environment is gradually becoming an essential element of the value system, legal culture and national identity of German society and the state, which it not only promotes both in the European Communities / European Union and beyond, but also consistently protects. Within the framework of the EU environmental policy, there is room for independent national action by the German government. This guarantees Germany a free choice of national strategies in promoting environmental policy.

Issues in Quantitative Analysis and Security Studies Involving Muslims

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-32
Author(s):  
Peter S. Henne
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
Ethical Perspective ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Imperfect Data ◽  
Muslim Countries ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Security Study

There are very serious ethical and pragmatic issues in the quantitative and security study of Muslims. From an ethical perspective, many of these studies denigrate and stereotype Muslims. They also treat them as a problem to be solved, justifying and expanding US power. Pragmatically, it can be hard to collect detailed data on security issues in many Muslim countries, making conventional studies difficult. Yet, standard approaches to these problems are faulty. We cannot abandon positivist analysis, as well-done quantitative studies are actually the best tools we have to push back on negative stereotypes of Muslims. At the same time, we cannot ignore important security topics among Muslim states just because the data we have available is not ideal. Instead, I present a two-pronged approach that can address these issues without ignoring crucial aspects of international relations; scholars should follow best methodological practices to avoid ethical issues, and adopt new standards and novel tools to deal with imperfect data.

Feminist Security Theorizing

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Sjoberg
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
Academic Disciplines ◽  
Political Arena ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
Feminist Work

Feminist Security Theorizing is in many ways what it sounds like—thinking about security in the global political arena through gender lenses. Since early work in feminist International Relations (IR), feminists have been exploring research questions about the ways that gender shapes and is shaped by war, conflict, and militarism. The field has developed to be labeled Feminist Security Studies (FSS). Debates about whether FSS is “feminist security” studies or feminist “security studies” have asked about the subfield’s focus—whether it is toward rethinking security in feminist ways or toward the mainstream field of security studies as such. With space in the field for both approaches, feminist security theorizing has looked at revealing the importance of gender in conceptualizing security, demonstrating that gender is key to understanding causes and predicting outcomes, and showing gender as a key part of solving security problems. FSS has several common theoretical commitments and concerns. These include a necessary commitment to intersectionality, a recognition of the importance of theorizing not only about gender but also about sexuality, a consciousness about framing, and an awareness of the politics of sociology of the academic disciplines in which it is situated. It is important to explore the past, present, and potential futures of feminist theorizing about security, concluding with an invitation to expand recognition of feminist work addressing security issues across an even wider variety of perspectives.

scholarly journals Burundi: A Critical Security Perspective

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eli Stamnes ◽  
Richard Wyn Jones
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Cold War ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Critical Security Studies ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
The Social ◽  
Philosophical Debates ◽  
The Cold War

In the last few years Critical Security Studies (CSS) has emerged as a new approach to the academic study of security. This article argues that its genesis is best understood as a reaction to two developments, namely ‘real world’ changes after the end of the Cold War and the far-reaching philosophical debates that have recently been taking place within the social sciences. The authors argue for a conceptualisation of CSS based on an explicit commitment to human emancipation. They then illustrate their preferred understanding of security through a discussion of Burundi. This case study not only illustrates the theoretical claims of CSS but also serves as a contribution to a more comprehensive understanding of the security issues with which this country and its inhabitants are faced.

scholarly journals Fit for purpose? Fitting ontological security studies ‘into’ the discipline of International Relations: Towards a vernacular turn

2016 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
pp. 12-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart Croft ◽  
Nick Vaughan-Williams
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
International Relations ◽  
Security Studies ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ontological Security ◽  
The Social ◽  
Mutual Interest ◽  
Fit For Purpose

The performance of International Relations (IR) scholarship – as in all scholarship – acts to close and police the boundaries of the discipline in ways that reflect power–knowledge relations. This has led to the development of two strands of work in ontological security studies in IR, which divide on questions of ontological choice and the nature of the deployment of the concept of dread. Neither strand is intellectually superior to the other and both are internally heterogeneous. That there are two strands, however, is the product of the performance of IR scholarship, and the two strands themselves perform distinct roles. One allows ontological security studies to engage with the ‘mainstream’ in IR; the other allows ‘international’ elements of ontological security to engage with the social sciences more generally. Ironically, both can be read as symptoms of the discipline’s issues with its own ontological (in)security. We reflect on these intellectual dynamics and their implications and prompt a new departure by connecting ontological security studies in IR with the emerging interdisciplinary fields of the ‘vernacular’ and ‘everyday’ via the mutual interest in biographical narratives of the self and the work that they do politically.

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