Security by Barry Buzan
BARRY BUZAN PEAPLE STATE AND FEAR
If international theorists are to make the 'post-international' leap and contribute to the understanding of global politics in the context of global society, fundamental shifts of theoretical perspective are essential. The most important of these focus on the relations of state, state-system and society. In this and the following chapter we explore the implications of the absence, or at best weakness, of a concept of society in international theory, and the use of a misplaced concept of 'international society' which follows from a statist conception.
This chapter explores these issues by offering a critical sociological perspective on a key conceptual issue in international relations, the question of security. Within international political theory, one of the most fundamental signs of rethinking has been a reworking of the concept of security. As Ken Booth has put it, 'The last decade or so has seen a growing unease with the traditional concept of security, which privileges the state and emphasizes military power' together with 'a frequent call for a "broadening" or "updating" of the concept of security'.The end of the Cold War has undoubtedly greatly reinforced the critical tendencies, so that it is now possible to discuss West European security, for example, in largely (but alas not wholly) non-military terms, with reference to non-violence, democracy and human rights, population movements, economic relations and environmental issues.
One of the first texts in international studies to argue comprehensively for this wider view of security was Barry Buzan's People, States and Fear. For many, as Smith notes, 'the book marked a real breakthrough in the literature, broadening and deepening the concept of security in a way that opened up the whole subject area as never before.' For Booth, it is still 'the most comprehensive analysis of the concept in international relations literature to date.'
Despite this praise, both these
If international theorists are to make the 'post-international' leap and contribute to the understanding of global politics in the context of global society, fundamental shifts of theoretical perspective are essential. The most important of these focus on the relations of state, state-system and society. In this and the following chapter we explore the implications of the absence, or at best weakness, of a concept of society in international theory, and the use of a misplaced concept of 'international society' which follows from a statist conception.
This chapter explores these issues by offering a critical sociological perspective on a key conceptual issue in international relations, the question of security. Within international political theory, one of the most fundamental signs of rethinking has been a reworking of the concept of security. As Ken Booth has put it, 'The last decade or so has seen a growing unease with the traditional concept of security, which privileges the state and emphasizes military power' together with 'a frequent call for a "broadening" or "updating" of the concept of security'.The end of the Cold War has undoubtedly greatly reinforced the critical tendencies, so that it is now possible to discuss West European security, for example, in largely (but alas not wholly) non-military terms, with reference to non-violence, democracy and human rights, population movements, economic relations and environmental issues.
One of the first texts in international studies to argue comprehensively for this wider view of security was Barry Buzan's People, States and Fear. For many, as Smith notes, 'the book marked a real breakthrough in the literature, broadening and deepening the concept of security in a way that opened up the whole subject area as never before.' For Booth, it is still 'the most comprehensive analysis of the concept in international relations literature to date.'
Despite this praise, both these