Security community

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Security community is a concept with a societal perspective used in international security literature as well as security studies in general. It has not become a mainstream or conventional term in the field despite its long history.

A security community can either be a policy community working on issues of security, that is a community for security, or a societal group with a collective arrangement that aims to ensure security among the members of the group, that is a community of security. Therefore it can either refer to a hierarchical or networked group of professionals consisting, for instance, of politicians, military and civilian bureaucrats and researchers, or a people or peoples that share a common and bonding consciousness.

Like any societal entity a security community may have an objective or structural dimension as well as a subjective or a constructed dimension.

[edit] References

Adler, E. & Barnett, M (eds.). (1998). Security Communities. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Väyrynen, R. (2000). “Stable Peace Through Security Communities? Steps Towards Theory-Building”. Occasional Paper # 18:OP:3. The Joan B. Kroc Institute For International Peace Studies.