Critical security studies (International Studies)

The Biopolitical Imaginary of Species Being

by Luis Lobo-Guerrero

Dillon, Michael and Luis Lobo-Guerrero (2009) 'The Biopolitical Imaginary of Species Being', Theory, Culture and Society, 26:1, 1-23

This essay revises Foucault’s account of biopolitics in the light of the impact of the molecular and digital... more This essay revises Foucault’s account of biopolitics in the light of the impact of the molecular and digital revolutions on ‘the politics of life itself’. The confluence of the molecular and digital revolutions informationalises life, providing an account of what it is to be a living thing in terms of complex adaptive and continuously emergent, informationally constituted, systems. Also re-visiting Foucault’s The Order of Things, and its interrogation of the modern analytics of finitude, the paper argues that our contemporary politics of life is therefore distinguished by the quasi-transcendentals that now distinguish informationalised life – Circulation, Connectivity and Complexity. Here, too, the paper argues, the figure of Man, which once united the quasi-transcendentals of Life, Labour and Language, is replaced by the Contingency that now unites Circulation, Connectivity and Complexity. Observing that a life of continuous emergence is also one in which production is continuously allied with destruction; such a life is lived as the continuous emergency of its own emergence. This account of contemporary biopolitics, together with its emergency of emergence, contrasts, in particular, with that offered by Agamben in his appropriation of Schmitt.

The Biopolitical Imaginary of Species Being

by Luis Lobo-Guerrero

Dillon, Michael and Luis Lobo-Guerrero (2009) 'The Biopolitical Imaginary of Species Being', Theory, Culture and Society, 26:1, 1-23

This essay revises Foucault’s account of biopolitics in the light of the impact of the molecular and digital... more This essay revises Foucault’s account of biopolitics in the light of the impact of the molecular and digital revolutions on ‘the politics of life itself’. The confluence of the molecular and digital revolutions informationalises life, providing an account of what it is to be a living thing in terms of complex adaptive and continuously emergent, informationally constituted, systems. Also re-visiting Foucault’s The Order of Things, and its interrogation of the modern analytics of finitude, the paper argues that our contemporary politics of life is therefore distinguished by the quasi-transcendentals that now distinguish informationalised life – Circulation, Connectivity and Complexity. Here, too, the paper argues, the figure of Man, which once united the quasi-transcendentals of Life, Labour and Language, is replaced by the Contingency that now unites Circulation, Connectivity and Complexity. Observing that a life of continuous emergence is also one in which production is continuously allied with destruction; such a life is lived as the continuous emergency of its own emergence. This account of contemporary biopolitics, together with its emergency of emergence, contrasts, in particular, with that offered by Agamben in his appropriation of Schmitt.

Biopolitics of Specialized Risk: An Analysis of Kidnap and Ransom Insurance

by Luis Lobo-Guerrero

Security Dialogue September 2007 vol. 38 no. 3 315-334

This article offers a biopolitical security analytic of kidnap and ransom (K&R) insurance. It suggests that... more This article offers a biopolitical security analytic of kidnap and ransom (K&R) insurance. It suggests that security phenomena should be analysed in terms of the problematizations through which they are expressed. With reference to Foucault's concept of biopower, K&R insurance is studied as part of a security dispositif designed to deal with the problematic of kidnap risk. The biopolitical security that results is aimed at enabling the circulation of the client should a kidnap event occur. As such, it is a personalized private provision of security premised upon the promotion of an individual's capacity to circulate in the future. Using the story of a kidnap event, the article analyses the micro-practices through which a population of `kidnapping prospects' is created, the underwriting process through which prospective clients undergo a security audit, and the forms of security that derive from this dispositif. It argues that the value of the concept of biopower for security analysis is its potential for explaining problematics that are not circumscribed to a fixed referent object but relate to the emergent features of the changing character of the human being.

« Une chaîne, qui laisse toute liberté de faire le bien et qui ne permette que très difficilement de commettre le mal »

by Claude-Olivier Doron

Published in The Carceral Notebooks, vol. 4, dir. Bernard Harcourt, juillet 2008

Cet article s’efforce d’analyser les caractéristiques du mode d’occupation de l’espace propre à un “dispositif de... more Cet article s’efforce d’analyser les caractéristiques du mode d’occupation de l’espace propre à un “dispositif de sécurité” au sens où l’entend Michel Foucault. Il prend pour modèle de ce mode d’occupation le système proposé par Guillauté à la fin du XVIIIe siècle pour réformer la police et montre ses prolongements dans le dispositif de « surveillance électronique » au XXe siècle. Il y voit un idéal « libéral » visant à marier la « sécurité » et la « liberté » et en souligne toutes les ambiguïtés.

"Fostering an EU Strategy for Security Sector Reform in the Mediterranean: Learning from Turkish and Palestinian Police Reform Experiences" Volkan Aytar, Gemma Collantes Celador, Eduard Soler i Lecha, Stuart Reigeluth & Mehmet Arıcan, EuroMeSCo (Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission) Research Paper No: 66, January 2008

by Volkan Aytar

"Fostering an EU Strategy for Security Sector Reform in the Mediterranean: Learning from Turkish and Palestinian Police Reform Experiences" Volkan Aytar, Gemma Collantes Celador, Eduard Soler i Lecha, Stuart Reigeluth & Mehmet Arıcan, EuroMeSCo (Euro-Mediterranean Study Commission) Research Paper No: 66, January 2008

In the absence of an overarching strategy, Turkey and the Palestinian territories depict how the EU has adopted... more In the absence of an overarching strategy, Turkey and the Palestinian territories depict how the EU has adopted different approaches to security sector reform (SSR) which have not facilitated the consolidation of a common EU foreign policy, though the situation might soon change given respective SSR-related documents from the Council and Commission. This report contributes to the security sector debate by stressing that in conflict and post-conflict scenarios endurable SSR requires fomenting synergies between the police and judicial sectors and the inclusion of DDR, in tandem with the institutional implementation of transparent, accountable and
democratic oversight mechanisms. There is an adamant need for constructive consistency when applying this central facet of EU foreign policy in the Mediterranean basin and beyond.

State Transformation, Territorial Politics and the Management of Transnational Risk

by Shahar Hameiri

Published in International Relations 25, no. 3 (2011), pp. 381-97, in special issue of the journal edited by Shahar Hameiri and Florian P. Kuehn, 'Risk, Risk Management and International Relations'.

The perceived emergence in recent years of potentially cataclysmic transnational risks has been a growing concern for... more The perceived emergence in recent years of potentially cataclysmic transnational risks has been a growing concern for policymakers and practitioners, as well as an area of considerable scholarly interest. Existing sociological approaches to the study of risk, which have become influential in a range of related social scientific fields, highlight important dimensions of this phenomenon, but are unable to adequately explain why these risk depictions have emerged at this historical juncture. Nor are they capable of providing a systematic explanation for variation in the adoption of risk depictions and related modes of governance in different functional areas and geographic regions. Drawing on the insights of political economy and critical political geography, it is argued that the current preponderance of transnational risk depictions and associated modes of governance should be understood in the context of processes of state transformation, linked to the transnationalisation of finance and production, which challenge the fit between state power and national territorial borders. From this perspective, risk and risk management are mechanisms in a contested process of rescaling, in which governance functions traditionally associated with the national state are shifted to regional or even global modes of governance. Understanding the dynamics of this territorial politics is important for learning about the current and evolving nature of political rule within and beyond the state.

Introduction: Risk, Risk Management and International Relations

by Shahar Hameiri

(with Florian P. Kuehn), International Relations 25, no. 3 (2011), pp. 275-79, in special issue of the journal edited by Shahar Hameiri and Florian P. Kuehn, 'Risk, Risk Management and International Relations'.

Europe, Knowledge, Politics – Engaging with the Limits: The c.a.s.e. collective responds

by Xavier Guillaume

Contributor, published in 'Security Dialogue', 2007

Critical Approaches to Security in Europe: A Networked Manifesto

by Xavier Guillaume

Contributor, published in 'Security Dialogue', 2006

In the last decade, critical approaches have substantially reshaped the theoretical landscape of security studies in... more In the last decade, critical approaches have substantially reshaped the theoretical landscape of security studies in Europe. Yet, despite an impressive body of literature, there remains fundamental disagreement as to what counts as critical in this context. Scholars are still arguing in terms of ‘schools’, while there has been an increasing and sustained cross-fertilization among critical approaches. Finally, the boundaries between critical and traditional approaches to security remain blurred. The aim of this article is therefore to assess the evolution of critical views of approaches to security studies in Europe, discuss their theoretical premises, investigate their intellectual ramifications, and examine how they coalesce around different issues (such as a state of exception). The article then assesses the political implications of critical approaches. This is done mainly by analysing processes by which critical approaches to security percolate through a growing number of subjects (such as development, peace research, risk management). Finally, ethical and research implications are explored.

Good governance and security: The limits of Australia's new aid programme

by Shahar Hameiri

co-authored with Toby Carroll, Journal of Contemporary Asia 37, no. 4 (2007), 410-30

This article analyses the Australian Agency for International Development’s
(AusAID) approach to overseas... more This article analyses the Australian Agency for International Development’s
(AusAID) approach to overseas development assistance (ODA) through an examination of
AusAID’s recent White Paper. The White Paper focuses on the nexus between poverty reduction
and security in the Asia-Pacific region. We argue that the Paper’s emphasis upon good governance
as the key to poverty reduction and security is fundamentally flawed. This stems from the
particular ideological and political conditions in which the Paper materialised. In focusing on
good governance and security the Paper neglects more fundamental poverty reduction issues,
while promoting policies that are difficult to implement and, when implemented, have highly problematic
outcomes. This article examines the Australian-led intervention in Solomon Islands and
the Australian aid programme in Indonesia as examples for the shortcomings of the approach
articulated in the White Paper. We conclude by examining alternative development policies that
move beyond the neo-liberal orthodoxy endorsed by AusAID.

The trouble with RAMSI: reexamining the roots of conflict in Solomon Islands

by Shahar Hameiri

The Contemporary Pacific 19, no. 2 (2007), 409-41

Failed states or a failed paradigm? State capacity and the limits of institutionalism

by Shahar Hameiri

Journal of International Relations and Development 10, no. 2 (2007)

In the post-Cold War era, a voluminous literature has developed to define failed
states, identify the causes and... more In the post-Cold War era, a voluminous literature has developed to define failed
states, identify the causes and parameters of failure, and devise ways for dealing
with the problems associated with state fragility and failure. While there is some
theoretical diversity within this literature — notably between neoliberal institutionalists
and neo-Weberian institutionalists — state failure is commonly defined in
terms of state capacity. Since capacity is conceived in technical and ‘objective’
terms, the political nature of projects of state construction (and reconstruction) is
masked. Whereas the existence of social and political struggles of various types is
often recognized by the failed states literature, these conflicts are abstracted from
political and social institutions. Such an analysis then extends into programmes
that attempt to build state capacity as part of projects that seek to manage social
and political conflict. Ascertaining which interests are involved and which interests
are left out in such processes is essential for any understanding of the prospects or
otherwise of conflict resolution.

State-Building, Risk Management and Primitive Accumulation in Solomon Islands

by Shahar Hameiri

New Approaches to Building Markets in Asia, Centre on Asia and Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore, Working Paper no. 11

In recent years, various forms of international/transnational state-building have become increasingly common as a way... more In recent years, various forms of international/transnational state-building have become increasingly common as a way of managing the perceived risk posed by dysfunctional governance in so-called fragile states to Western security. In Solomon Islands too, the Australian government has led a robust and expansive intervention, designed to build the capacity of Solomon Islands’ government and bureaucracy to provide more effective governance. Dominant approaches to state-building link state failure with a failure of development and typically involve considerable efforts to promote economic development through the establishing of robust institutional structures seen to be supportive of liberal markets. In particular, interveners have attempted to cut ‘red-tape’ for business, eliminate corruption and secure investor rights as a way of facilitating faster and more sustained growth. Though economic activity has improved in Solomon Islands following the 2003 intervention, not least due to the arrival of many well-paid expatriates, much of this activity has occurred in highly unsustainable extractive industries, such as logging and fishing. Ironically, then, to the extent that state-building programs have supported the expansion of liberal markets in Solomon Islands, this has empowered interests hitherto reliant on primitive accumulation for their power. As a result, the expansion of liberal markets is likely in fact to lead to future social and political instability in Solomon Islands, either as a result of resource-depletion or due to bottom-up forms of social conflict around the destruction of local habitats.

Bringing State Theory Back In: Why We Should Let Go of ‘Failed States’

by Shahar Hameiri

Global Dialogue, 13, no. 1 (2011), in special issue on Failed States

Studying the ‘migration-security nexus’ in Europe: Towards which end of the ‘nexus’?

by Dimitris Skleparis

Paper to be presented at the UACES Student Forum 12th Annual Conference,
University of Surrey, Guildford, 30 June – 1 July 2011

This article contends that critical approaches to the ‘migration-security nexus’ are making a noticeable turn in... more This article contends that critical approaches to the ‘migration-security nexus’ are making a noticeable turn in recent years to a ‘migration-oriented’ study of the ‘nexus’. The aim of this article is to review this shift in the critical analysis of the ‘nexus’ primarily, but not exclusively, in Europe. The article is organized as follows: first, it provides a brief outline of the creation of the ‘migration-security nexus’. Then, it summarizes the emergence of the critical approaches to security and the application of the ‘Copenhagen’ and the ‘Paris’ Schools in the study of the ‘nexus’. Next, the article discusses the dangers of studying migration from a security perspective, or what is known as the ‘security traps’ of security studies. In this regard, it continues with a critical assessment of possible solutions to this problem and a review of key studies that empirically engage with these solutions, paying particular attention to their main themes, strengths, and weaknesses. Finally, the article concludes that a key turn to a ‘migration-oriented’ study of the ‘nexus’ is taking place among the critical approaches and evaluates the benefits that occur for the critical study of the ‘migration-security nexus’ in Europe from the perspective of security.

Comercio, ayuda y desarrollo en tiempos de guerra: se estanca la agenda social de la globalización

by José Antonio Sanahuja

en Mabel González Bustelo y Manuela Mesa (Coords.), Escenarios de conflicto. Irak y el desorden mundial. Anuario CIP 2004, Madrid, CIP/Icaria, 2004, ISBN 84-7426-707-2, pp. 217-241

De Doha a Bagdad. La fuerza contra la cooperación internacional

by José Antonio Sanahuja

en Mariano Aguirre y Mabel González Bustelo (coords.), Tiempos difíciles. Guerra y poder en el sistema internacional. Anuario CIP 2003, Madrid, Centro de Investigación para la Paz (CIP), 2003, ISBN 84-7426-642-4, pp. 237-260