Critical Approaches to Security: An Introduction to Theories and Methods

by Laura J. Shepherd (Editor)

Overview

Focusing on critical approaches to security, this new textbook offers readers both an overview of the key theoretical perspectives and a variety of methodological techniques.

With a careful explication of core concepts in each chapter and an introduction that traces the development of critical approaches to security, this textbook will encourage all those who engage with it to develop a curiosity about the study and practices of security politics. Challenging the assumptions of conventional theories and approaches, unsettling that which was previously taken for granted – these are among the ways in which such a curiosity works. Through its attention to the fact that, and the ways in which, security matters in global politics, this work will both pioneer new ways of studying security and acknowledge the noteworthy scholarship without which it could not have been thought.

This textbook will be essential reading to advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of critical security studies, and highly recommended to students of traditional security studies, International Relations and Politics.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415680172
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	12/14/2012
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	6.88(w) x 9.69(h) x (d)

About the Author

Laura J. Shepherd is Associate Professor in International Relations at the University of New South Wales, Australia. She is author/editor of four books, including Gender Matters in Global Politics (2010).

Table of Contents

Foreword, Ken Booth 1. Introduction: Critical Approaches to Security in Contemporary Global Politics, Laura J. Shepherd Part I: Theories: How do we See the World? 2. Feminist Security Studies, Laura J. Shepherd 3. Human security, Natalie Florea Hudson, Alex Kreidenweis and Charli Carpenter 4. Green security, Emma Foster 5. Securitisation Theory, Jonna Nyman 6. Security as Emancipation, Soumita Basu and Joao Reis Nunes 7. Poststructural Security Studies, Anthony Burke 8. Postcolonial Security Studies, Shampa Biswas Part II: Methods: Collecting and Analysing Data 9. Quantitative Methods, Laura Sjoberg and Jeffrey Horowitz 10. Archival Research and Document Analysis, Marc Froese 11. Ethnographic Methods, Cai Wilkinson 12. Participatory Action Research, Elizabeth Shannon Wheatley and Eric Hartmann 13. Elite Interviews, Ruth Blakeley 14. Computer-Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS), Oz Hassan 15. Social Network Analysis, Raluca Soreanu and Anca Simionca 16. Predication, Presupposition and Subject-Positioning, Linda Åhäll and Stefan Borg 17. Deconstruction as ‘Anti-Method’, Penny Griffin 18. Visual Analysis, Cerwyn Moore and Chris Farrands 19. Conclusion: The Process, Practice and Ethics of Research, Lee Jarvis

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

'In a field crowded with texts on security studies, this volume stands out from the crowd: not only a book that explains the choices to be made between the use of different methods, but one that also sets out the politics behind those choices. It is therefore not only ‘how’ to do research in security studies, but what values and norms we endorse or silence in that process. For those learning how to engage in security studies, and for those long versed in the practice, it is an invaluable contribution to the field.'— Stuart Croft, University of Warwick, UK

'In this eye-opening tour d’horizon, the authors introduce and at the same time interrogate a number of critical approaches to security. Their engaging style, many illustrations and at the same time deep theoretical foundations make this volume a must for anyone interested in the ethical and political repercussions of different theoretical and methodological takes on security, students and scholars alike.'— Thomas Diez, University of Tübingen, Germany

'This is an extraordinarily welcome addition to the literature on critical security studies. The text takes both theory and method seriously, locates them both in the context of concrete research, to provide an excellent guide to research methodology in critical security studies. The book is very well designed for use in the classroom, but will also prove an invaluable resource for the active researcher.' — David Mutimer, York University, Toronto, Canada

Editorial Reviews

'In a field crowded with texts on security studies, this volume stands out from the crowd: not only a book that explains the choices to be made between the use of different methods, but one that also sets out the politics behind those choices. It is therefore not only ‘how’ to do research in security studies, but what values and norms we endorse or silence in that process. For those learning how to engage in security studies, and for those long versed in the practice, it is an invaluable contribution to the field.'— Stuart Croft, University of Warwick, UK

'In this eye-opening tour d’horizon, the authors introduce and at the same time interrogate a number of critical approaches to security. Their engaging style, many illustrations and at the same time deep theoretical foundations make this volume a must for anyone interested in the ethical and political repercussions of different theoretical and methodological takes on security, students and scholars alike.'— Thomas Diez, University of Tübingen, Germany

'This is an extraordinarily welcome addition to the literature on critical security studies. The text takes both theory and method seriously, locates them both in the context of concrete research, to provide an excellent guide to research methodology in critical security studies. The book is very well designed for use in the classroom, but will also prove an invaluable resource for the active researcher.' — David Mutimer, York University, Toronto, Canada

From the Publisher