Security studies, also known asinternational security studies, is an academic sub-field within the wider discipline ofinternational relations that studies organized violence, military conflict,national security, andinternational security.[1][2]
While the field (much like its parent field of international relations) is often meant to educate students who aspire to professional careers inthink tanks,consulting,defense contractors,human rightsNGOs or ingovernment service positions focused ondiplomacy,foreign policy,conflict resolution and prevention, emergency anddisaster management,intelligence, anddefense, it can also be tailored to students seeking to professionally conduct academic research within academia, or aspublic intellectuals,pundits orjournalists writing aboutsecurity policy.[3]
The origin of the modern field of security studies has been traced to the period between World War I and World War II.[4]Quincy Wright's 1942 book,Study of War, was the culmination of a major collaborative research project dating back to 1926.[4] Scholars such as William T. R. Fox, Bernard Brodie, Harold Lasswell, Eugene Staley, Jacob Viner, and Vernon Van Dyke were involved in the project.[4] Security studies courses were introduced atColumbia University,Princeton,The University of North Carolina,Northwestern,Yale, and theUniversity of Pennsylvania in the 1940s.[4] Think tanks, such as the RAND Corporation, played an influential role in post-WWII security studies in theUnited States.[1] The field rapidly developed withininternational relations during theCold War, examples from the era including the academic works of mid-20th centuryrealist political scientists such asThomas Schelling[5] andHenry Kissinger,[6] who focused primarily onnuclear deterrence.[citation needed]
Some scholars have called for expanding security studies to include topics such as economic security, environmental security and public health. Stephen Walt has argued against this expansion, saying it would undermine the field's intellectual coherence.[1] While the field is mostly contained withinpolitical science andpublic policy programs, it is increasingly common to take an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating knowledge from the fields ofhistory,geography (stressing classicalgeopolitics), military sciences, andcriminology.[citation needed]
The field of security studies is related tostrategic studies andmilitary science, both of which are frequently published in security studies journals.[7]
The Cornell Studies in Security Affairs is arguably the leading book series focused on issues in security studies. The'Studies in Asian Security', byStanford University Press, is one of the most prominent book series on Asian security studies.[8]
International Security andSecurity Studies are the most prominent journals dedicated specifically to security studies.[9] Other security studies journals include: