The Changing Agenda of Societal Security

Abstract

This article presents the status and trends in the societal sector of security as seen through securitization theory. The first part discusses the concept of “societal security”, its definition, and relationship to traditional state security. The next parts present the main issues that make up the agenda of societal security, discuss gender and religion as closely related issues that could either merit a part each of their own or be discussed within the context of societal security, but with attention to their peculiar features that are not comprehended well by fully subsuming them under “standard” societal security logic. The study finally assesses trends in the societal sector – the effects of the end of the Cold War and of 9-11 respectively, as well as the prospects for both the relative importance of and the main dynamics within this sector before it offers some conclusions.

Keywords

Societal Security, Securitization, Gender, Religion, Globalization

Citation

Waewer, Ole, “The Changing Agenda of Societal Security”, International Relations, Volume 5, Issue 18 (Summer 2008), pp. 151-178.

Affiliations

• Ole Waewer, Prof. Dr., Kopenhag University