EnvironmentalHuman Security

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

Security remains one of the most controversial and contested concepts in international politics. Traditional perspectives focus mainly on the national and military security of states in the Global North. Critical security studies have broadened the agenda. Some schools focus on the security of individuals and communities, others challenge the inequitable structures of the international system for countries in the Global South. Since the 1990s, the concepts of human and environmental security have also shaped the international policy agenda. This course introduces students to different schools in the field of critical security. What constitutes security? Whose security is at stake? What is the underlying critique raised by these alternative perspectives? What is human security, how does it fit within this agenda? What is environmental security? And what are the emerging threats for individuals and communities? Through a combination of conceptual tools and contemporary analysis, the students will explore some of the new security challenges of the Middle East from the perspective of human, environmental and critical security. They will be encouraged to establish comparisons with other regions (Africa, Latin America). Some of the security implications under consideration include the impacts of climate change, access to food, displacement/migration, health security, gender and identity politics.