Understanding Contemporary Practices of Security

Senior researcher Rens van Munster has published two new articles on securitization. In the first article, he provides an overview and discussion of the main debates on securitization theory. It is useful strating point for anyone that wants to be at the forefront of theoretical innovations in the securitization literature. The article is part of the comprehensive Oxford Bibliographies Online (for access see box).

In the second article, Rens van Munster and Claudia Aradau explore the increasing use of trauma and psychological language in the management of catastrophic events such as terrorism. Claiming that security knowledge and psychological knowledge can be coterminous or oppositional, they point out that sociodramatic approaches to catastrophic events may offer more inclusive resources for governing catastrophic events that differ fundamentally from security governance.