Security Studies

WE WELCOME ALL PANEL AND PAPER PROPOSALS ON SECURITY STUDIES. BELOW ARE SOME SPECIFIC IDEAS FROM THE SECTION CHAIRS. International Security: Historical, Theoretical & Policy Perspectives Complex, multifaceted, and often militarily unconventional security challenges frequently dominate contemporary international political discourse. These challenges can be observed through the prism of the conceptual "widening" that has taken place in security studies since the early 1990s. Human security concerns often assume prominence in contemporary diplomatic deliberations. Global migration trends, the management of refugee flows generated by violent conflict in the MENA region and elsewhere as well as the human suffering wrought by continued political instability, deficits in economic capacity and the social repercussions of ecological degradation in many regions of the Global South present stern challenges for the international community. The rise of insurgent groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram have ensured that non-state actors will remain central to the international security agenda. Resource scarcity and questions regarding the sustainability of current energy consumption patterns look likely to present pressure points for state and non-state decision-makers seeking to manage international security challenges into the future. On the other hand, owing itself largely to the crisis in Eastern Europe following Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014 as well as the modernist security thinking of rising powers such as China, "traditional" state-centric security studies has made a firm revival in parallel to the rise in human and non-state security concerns. In recent media and scholarly discourse, this has often been characterized under the title "the return of geopolitics". Hence, concepts predominantly associated with "traditional" security thinking such as: military alliances and deterrence; regional power rivalries; balances of power; great power management; and the ability of multilateral institutions to restrain the use of force have all returned to the core of the contemporary debate as scholars seek to grasp the character of today's international security challenges. New technological innovations together with evolution in the norms of war have led to increased use of Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs) as well as military hardware such as unmanned drones and robotics in the wielding of military power. These and other trends illustrate the argument that "traditional" military-orientated security studies requires further scholarly development if it is to retain relevance for contemporary security analysis. Both the military and non-military approaches to security require innovation in order to meet the demands of contemporary change in the international system. However, as works outlining critical and historical sociological approaches to international security have attested, International Relations (IR) scholarship has sometimes problematically de-historized its perspectives on contemporary issues. Hence, the root causes of contemporary challenges require critical evaluation while parallels need to be drawn concerning successes and failures in past political efforts to meet the challenges of complex international security crises. Leading from the challenges of change in the contemporary international system and the previous shortcomings of security studies as a sub-field of IR, this section seeks paper proposals outlining innovative approaches across the spectrum of military and non-military, state and non-state, international security challenges. These can include: (1. Historical successes and failures in political efforts to meet the challenges of complex international security crises; (2. The links between migration and political violence; (3. Cooperation and conflict concerning migration matters in North-South relations; (4. Theoretical approaches to crisis management in international security encompassing the historical sociological, English school, realist, liberal and constructivist schools of international thought; (5. The role and influence of rising powers in the Global South concerning the management of international security; (6. The suitability of current multilateral institutions for contemporary international security challenges; (7. Questions concerning the viability and evolution of "traditional" security studies concepts such as military alliances, conventional and nuclear deterrence, polarity, balances of power, arms control and disarmament, and great power management in light of contemporary security challenges; (8. Resource scarcity and ecological considerations in international security; (9. Human security discourse and contemporary crises; (10. Insurgent groups in international security; (11. Technological and normative change in international security management. The politics and ethics of PMSCs, drones and robotics; (12. The relationship between academic theory / research and international security policy-making.