The concept of security before and after September 11

(1) The Contested Concept of Security Steve Smith: The main theme underlying this paper is the contention that 'security' is "an essentially contested concept". The article attempts an overview of the current debates shaping the subfield of 'sec...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Smith, Steve
Other Authors: S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Format: Working Paper
Published: 2009
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10356/90739
http://hdl.handle.net/10220/4423
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Institution: Nanyang Technological University
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Summary:(1) The Contested Concept of Security Steve Smith: The main theme underlying this paper is the contention that 'security' is "an essentially contested concept". The article attempts an overview of the current debates shaping the subfield of 'security studies'. Six main 'schools of thought' are examined in turn to demonstrate how each of these 'schools' challenge and contest the traditional agenda of 'security studies' by attempting to both widen and deepen the concept of 'security'. The last section concludes by examining the value of engaging in such debates on widening and deepening the term 'security' for international politics in our present age.