the-evolution-of-international-security-studies

mapping concepts of security 35either (King et al., 1994). Since IR and ISS are not like a laboratory, theycan only approximate the positivist research programmes of Chemistryor Physics, yet, argue positivists, one should strive to concord with positivistprinciples to the greatest extent possible. Post-positivists, on theother hand, insist that many of the problems with which the social sciencesengage, including the one of security, are better dealt with throughthe use of non-positivist theories. The process through which threats areidentified and given meaning is, for instance, better understood throughan analysis of identity building and institutional transformation that doesnot lend itself to causality or quantification.Most Realist and Liberalist approaches have followed the positivistroute, combining in what Keohane coined in 1988 as ‘rationalism’, whileCritical Constructivists, Poststructuralists and most Feminists have optedfor a post-positivist, ‘reflectivist’ approach (Keohane, 1988). But as withthe objective, subjective and discursive conceptions, one should be awarethat there are many who fall outside these neatly arranged camps. Largeparts of ISS during the Cold War were more concerned with the empiricalevolution of the arms race and the superpower relationship than withestablishing fully fledged theories. Classical Realists and Liberals werewriting before the turn to positivism gained force, and one does not findcausal research programmes in the seminal articles by Kennan (1947),Herz (1950) or Wolfers (1952). Yet although consciousness of epistemologyis a fairly recent arrival in ISS, its presence and consequences havebeen influential from the beginning.Mapping concepts of securityThe first two chapters have already mentioned the labels of a numberof approaches to ISS. Since we will be making much use of these labelsin what follows, we conclude this chapter by linking these and theirconcepts of security to the discussions above. Readers might find it usefulto have both a glossary of terms, and a quick guide to the similarities anddifferences of the various approaches. We also indicate the geographicalfocus of each approach, a theme we develop as we unfold the evolutionof ISS in chapters 4 to 8. Conventional Constructivism – presents a counterpoint to materialistanalyses by highlighting the importance of ideational factors, that isculture, beliefs, norms, ideas and identity. Usually centred on analysingstate behaviour, includes positivist as well as post-positivist epistemologiesand is primarily located within the US.