Described as 'an excellent mix of theoretical and empirical material,' the book is an essential text for students of international politics and security.
Date: 05 August 2020
The second edition of a popular textbook by London Met’s Dr Andrew Moran, Dr Bruce Pilbeam, Dr Wendy Stokes, and the University of Middlesex’s Dr Peter Hough, provides students with a comprehensive introduction to the study of security studies, with a strong emphasis on the use of case studies to illustrate theoretical debates.
International Security Studies: Theory and Practice examines a range of important and controversial topics in covering both traditional military and non-military security issues such as WMD proliferation, humanitarian intervention, food security and environmental security, in addition to presenting the major theoretical perspectives.
With rich and varied subject matter, the new edition includes chapters on cybersecurity, the insecurity of the LGBT community, the Trump Presidency, Brexit, the North Korean nuclear standoff, the Syrian Civil War, the Mediterranean migration crisis, climate change diplomacy, and the Sustainable Development Goals.
The volume also offers a wide range of case studies providing detailed analyses of important global security issues.
Dr Moran, Associate Professor in Politics and International Relations at London Met said: “The book came about as a result of teaching Security Studies to undergrad and postgrads at London Met. We never felt there was a textbook that covered everything that we wanted to in the way we wanted to - and students asked us to - so we decided to write it. We are delighted that it has proved popular enough for a second edition, which has allowed us the chance to update and reflect on recent events in the rapidly changing world of Security Studies.”
The book has been highly praised by academics working in the field of International Relations and Global Security. Professor Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick, said: “It has been commonly accepted for many years now that security is an essentially contested concept, and analysts have sought to find ways of expressing the full meaning of that realisation in forms that students can comfortably digest. There have been a number of such attempts. This volume achieves that end incredibly well. It does so through a comprehensiveness of approach and a subtlety of interpretation that will no doubt benefit successive cohorts of those studying this elusive concept.”
Professor of Security, Politics and Culture at Newcastle University said: “International Security Studies is an essential introductory text for students. It frames the core intellectual debates that have defined the discipline by giving readers an accessible grounding in a broad range of contending understandings of security from realism to post-colonialism. It provides a compelling overview of the contemporary security environment and explores a comprehensive listing of key topics from nuclear proliferation to natural disasters.
“Moreover, it offers detailed regional and thematic case studies as a means of demonstrating how the theoretical and conceptual insights of security studies can be applied to better understand the security dynamics that are critical to world politics. The variety of cases on offer will capture the imaginations of students from those interested in the security challenges emerging in the aftermath of the Arab Spring to those yearning to learn more about the militarization of outer space. In sum, International Security Studies offers an excellent mix of theoretical and empirical material that delivers a comprehensive and sophisticated, yet student-friendly, overview of contemporary security studies.”
International Security Studies: Theory and Practice is available from Routledge.