The Four-stroke Cycle in Security Studies

Bibliographic Data

ID9912366
AuthorsGwyn Prins (Chatham House, corresponding author)
Year1998
Volume74
Issue4
Pages781-808
Publication date1998-10-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-5850 • E-ISSN: 1468-2346
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/1468-2346.00045
OpenAlexW2022179915
LanguageEN
Citations received9

The purpose of this article is to consider the future prospects for the discipline of security studies in the face of a rising agenda of global, as well as national and international security issues. The author argues that security studies has not found it easy to accommodate itself to a transforming world scene. In particular, it failed disappointingly the challenge posed by the revolutions of 1989–91 which it neither foresaw nor, subsequently, has explained with much insight. The reasons for this are a consequence of its constrained world view, framed by the values of Classical Realism. It remains in its essentials a discipline shaped by the shocks of the late 1940s, which engendered it. However, several groups of scholars have begun to respond to these deficiencies, and the article notes several heartening trends. The time is ripe to press forward, it is argued, and two areas where work is still relatively undeveloped are suggested. A focus upon understanding the phenomenon of stereotyping is proposed as an effective way to improve understanding of global culture. The transformation of political agency demands a new approach to power politics

Agency (philosophy · Critical security studies · Epistemology · Face (sociological concept · International security · Phenomenon · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Realism · Security studies · Social science · Sociology · Work (physics · International Relations and Foreign Policy · International Relations in Latin America · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security

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