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Security Policy – Lezioni
Lezione 1 Many articles, thousands of book, concepts, strategies, projects, scenarios and models have been written in the field of security. From the very beginning of human evolution humans devoted all of their energy to secure their existence. Thank to this fact they survived and they can develop human society.
But current security situation of humans is not much better. Security of the world, security of human beings, security of nations, states and individuals is not getting better.
- To be exact, world, human beings, nations, states and individuals have to face many complex and dynamic challenges (security threats and risks).
Many traditional risks are forgotten, but there are new risks and threats; unknown and latent. We should claim that history of humankind is history of fight for security. Security and human existence are closely connected categories, they are inseparable phenomena.
Security studies:
- Institutions
- Prospective
- Concepts
- Challenges
United Nations (UN) was base on the idea of eternal peace and security – not possible. [Without peace is not possible have a good educated society and other things.]
Security of:
- Humans
- Nations
- Individuals
- Contemporary security is about a personal feeling.
WHAT IS SECURITY?
Asking what security means raises issues about the philosophy of knowledge, especially those concerning
- epistemology and ontology (how do we know things?) and (what phenomena do we think make up the social world?)
- method (how we should study the social world).
New technologies: is a new challenge for security, spreading of information.
Epistemology and Ontology: security issue are connected with the problem of the enemy (hazard). Research of hazard plays a key role in security field of study.
EPISTEMOLOGY AND ONTOLOGY
From the above-mentioned facts we conclude, that security issues are closely connected with problem of enemy ( hazards ).
- Research of hazards plays key role in security research. It represents a way of getting objective security, way of looking for real possibilities of how to protect citizens, states and the world.
New security issue: political tension, extremism, shadow economy, corruption, social problem, unemployment, cyber security…
Traditional issue: proliferation of weapons
- Security represent a way of looking for real possibilities of How to protect citizens, state and world.
Methods: methodology in ss could be achieve by many forms.
METHODS Methodology in Security Studies could be achieved by many forms: realism, liberalism, critical theory, constructivism, feminism, etc.
Asking whose security we are talking about is the next important and unavoidable step in the analytical process.
- Without a referent object there can be no threats and no discussion of security because the concept is meaningless without something to secure.
DEFINITION OF SECURITY By the more limited definition of the term security authors use the military-political understanding of the security with the main object of the research focused on the state as the main participant.
The wider definition of security focuses its attention on other spheres of social life as economic, societal, environmental or information sphere and the security is perceived not from one perspective only – the state, but from many basic perspectives: individual security, intrastate groups’ security, state security, regional groupings security, international environment security.
“Definition” : International security studies grew out of debates over how to protect the state against external and internal threats after the War World II. The absence of a universal definition means that SS has at time become a site for disciplinary politics with different perspectives.
Security prospection:
- Individual
- National
- International
SECURITY STUDIES
The field’s history , security studies is understood as one of the most important subfields of academic International relations, the other areas usually being defined as international history, international theory, international law, international political economy and area studies.
HISTORY
- increasing applications of psychology to security;
- ethical dimensions of security,
- etc.
- After War World II International relations, wars ext are always changing: the nature of conflicts is changed.
General agreement after War World II.
Post Cold war: reborn and institutional growth of the security studies
POST-COLD WAR The intellectual rebirth and institutional growth of security studies in the past over 20 years should enable the field to adjust to the post- Cold War world.
The field's new theoretical and historical consciousness have been reflected in several important debates that have enlivened international security studies in these years:
- The Rational Deterrence Debate;
- Realism and its Discontents;
- War, Peace, and The Future;
- Offense and Defense;
- Assessing Conventional Balances.
- War is not obsolete, but the end of the Cold War has changed the agenda for security studies.
New theoretical:
- Rational deterrence debate;
- Realism and discontent;
- War, peace and future;
- Offence and defense;
- Conventional balance.
Internal structure – domestic policy: economic power over military power.
CONTEMPORARY SECURITY Till the end of the Cold War the security studies managed with the dichotomy division with the security using only two basic terms of “war” and “non-military conflict” (non-military threat).
- All non-military aspects of security were pushed outside of the agenda to the periphery of the interest.
The Copenhagen School brought the process of securitization into the international relations in the scope of the paradigm of the social constructivism as an innovation and assigned the existential character to non- military threats in particular.
5 sectors:
- Military : concerned with the interplay between the armed offensive and defensive capabilities of states and states’ perceptions of each other’s intentions.
- Political : focused on the organizational stability of states, systems of government and the ideologies that give them their legitimacy.
- Economic : revolved around access to the resources, finance and markets necessary to sustain acceptable levels of welfare and state power.
- Societal : centered on the sustainability and evolution of traditional patterns of language, culture, and religious and national identity and custom.
- Environmental : concerned with the maintenance of the local and the planetary biosphere as the essential support system on which all other human enterprises depend.
Security studies in the Golden age were that studies that worked separate from the other studies and science.
Lezione 3
21st century politics has brought urgency to consider the proliferation of weapons, increase in military spending, and terrorism. The sharp rise in economic interconnectedness between states has also promoted small arms-trade, mainly used to fight domestic conflicts in several parts of the world.
- (^) The two major analytical theories in International Relations study; Liberalism and Realism, interpret different approaches to control and manage global insecurity.
Theoretical approaches:
- Realism and liberalism: different approaches to manage and control global insecurity [major approaches].
- Social constructivism.
LIBERALISM
MANAGING INTERNATIONAL SECURITY ACCORDING TO LIBERALISM
Liberal theory believes in the innate goodness of mankind to conduct peace-keeping relations in the international system. States rely on mutual cooperation to tackle global issues. Managing security issues according to this theory requires the involvement of international institutions, along with the cooperation of states to achieve this.
- Kant – eternal peace : people want to live in a peaceful environment.
Key methods: collective security and arms control.
COLLECTIVE SECURITY
Liberal theorists strongly believe in the power of collective security. This is a protective measure used by a group of allied states. When threatening and unlawful actions are directed at one state, united opposition is shown by the other supporting states.
- The goal is to stop the aggressor while creating security in the international system. Collective security can be best described by the concept of ‘one for all, all for one’.
At the same time, states also take measures to maximize personal interests and undermine the interests or capabilities of other states. This maintains the balance of power by avoiding the emergence of a ‘hegemon’ or dominating leader state.
a. Balance of powers: state must maintain a continuous level of equilibrium by negotiating and following the political norms and behavior guidelines of the group.
- Avoid hegemony (un solo stato possiede la maggioranza del potere) or dominating leader state.
The state should have the same power to “keep an eye” at the other states.
DETERRENCE THEORY Deterrence theory is shared by both liberal and realist analysts. However, realists believe that war may be prevented by threatening to use force. For this to succeed, aggressors must be made aware of the potential threat posed by the opposing states. Knowledge of this counter-threat will cause aggressors not to continue any unlawful actions, thus avoiding war.
Under realist deterrence theory, war can also be avoided through the direct involvement and leadership of rational decision makers. There are a number of key assumptions that realists make about this method of security control.
b. Deterrence method: deterrence theory is shared by both liberals and realist analyst. Es. North Atlantic Treat.
- Deterrence is working by fear to use something. Under realist war may be prevented by treating to use force.
Compare of the two theories: Similar aspects
- Actors: states;
- Anarchic system.
Difference: the way they believe is better for keeping peace around the world. Realistic – believe war as natural.
Looking back over the development of the security studies field, there is little doubt that the realist tradition has exercised an enormous influence. Even its harshest critics would acknowledge that realist theories, with their focus on power, fear and anarchy, have provided centrally important explanations for conflict and war.
Lezione 4
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTIVISM The social constructivism is based on the assumption that the behavior of participants of security is a very strong social construct and it stresses the power of ideas. The social constructivism perceives the reality as ever-changing through social interactions. This theoretical trend started to develop in 1980 s and was strengthened after the end of the Cold War.
COPENHAGEN SCHOOL B. Buzan, O. Waever a J. de Wilde – representatives of the social constructivism in the 1990 brought the concept of the sector security to the security studies, this concept is known as the Copenhagen School.
- The Copenhagen School presented as one of the outcomes of its new concept of the security that was connected to the division into sector security the so called sector approach to security studies.
The security became the social and intra-subjective construct that is represented through the ability of the participant to persuade of the topic to be as urgent to require immediate solution even by overstepping the rules valid for solution of different disputes – securitization theory.
Social constructivism: theoretical approached after the Cold war. This theory become more followed – Is a new view of the security threats.
Bipolarity is a very stable system – now many states and transnational company are trying to get the power.
- (^) Constructivism focus not only on the states but also in the other actors.
ACTORS IN SECTOR SECURITY
The concept of the Copenhagen School stresses the fact that participants of the securitization in the contemporary international political system are not only states but other participants as well. The Copenhagen School talks about the expediency of the delimitation of threats through division of security into individual sectors – military, political, economic, societal and environmental.
There are not homogeneous states now – different interest. Founder of social constructivism: Alexander Band.
The SC is based on the assumption that the behaviors of participant of security is a very strong social construct.
- Copenhagen school: Buzan, Waever, De Wilde (sector approach)
Non-military aspect: migrations, cyber, natural, disease, unemployment.
- They influence each other.
Securization theory: the topic have to be perceive as urgent to require immediate solution.
- (^) One topic from social discussion. Es. The terrorist attack in NY in the 11.09.01 – Twin towers. Today in Europe is migrations and terrorism.
- Security become social and intra subjects today.
Sector: the participate / actors have to be not only states or politicians.
- Now the actors are also the influencer on social media (radio, NGO…who have enough power to influence the opinion of others).
Expediency: the limitation of threats through division of security into individual sectors.
- Military
- Political
- Economic
- Societal
- Environmental.
Now also food, cyber ext.
ENVIRONMENTAL SECTOR
The environmental security agenda was subjected to a more focused attention after the Stockholm conference in 1972 that signified the change in understanding of the influence of the environment on the security.
- Particularly this conference singled out global environmental problems and regions; even the following threats that have been transformed as priorities into the UN Environmental Program.
