Only human? A worldly approach to security

Mitchell, Audra

doi:10.1177/0967010613515015

Cited by 94 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The paper treats the anthropocene not in terms of a new historical era, but a conceptual configuration which highlights some features of contemporary political organisation and offers avenues for engaging with them. 6 It should be noted here that some of the critique to follow develops along similar lines to the existing broader critique that human security is 'problem solving' rather than critical (see for example Christie, 2010;Mitchell, 2014;Newman, 2010;Browning and McDonald, 2011), but in addition I show that this limitation is particularly pervasive and problematic in the context of environmental debates. 7 That is, to suggest that concepts of security and concepts of the environment can be easily separated is to obscure the way in which they are closely linked through the operation of the human/nature binary.…”

Section: Conclusion: Security In a Fragmented Worldmentioning

confidence: 72%

“…2 This seems to be the way that Crutzen intends the implications of his neologism to be understood (Crutzen, 2011). 3 See Audra Mitchell (2014) for an argument developing security thought in terms of Jean-Luc Nancy's concept of a 'world', which offers an excellent engagement with some of the themes developed in terms of 'the anthropocene' here. 4 There is some literature on the way in which security discourse has changed as the result of the insertions of environmental or ecological concerns onto the security agenda (Trombetta 2008;Corry 2014).…”

Section: Conclusion: Security In a Fragmented Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Security in the anthropocene: Environment, ecology, escape

Fagan

2016

European Journal of International Relations

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The anthropocene poses a set of conceptual challenges for the study of security in the discipline of International Relations. By complicating the distinction between human and nature, the concept of the anthropocene puts into question one of the key organizing logics of upon which much security discourse is built; what would a security look like whose subject was not modern man? This paper offers a reading of environmental and ecological approaches to security as two potential avenues for rethinking security in the context of the anthropocene. This is done in order to demonstrate the dominance and centrality of the nature/culture binary for conceptualizing the environment, ecology and security. Such a common philosophical horizon problematizes and undermines the scope for a critical reorientation of security thinking from either perspective. Drawing on R.B.J Walker's concept of the politics of escape, the paper suggests that in attempting to escape the nature/culture binary the move to ecology in fact simultaneously reinscribes and obscures this distinction, thereby limiting the potential of the concept of the anthropocene to offer a critical framework with which to analyze the interplay of nature and culture in contemporary security politics.

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Section: Conclusion: Security In a Fragmented Worldmentioning

confidence: 72%

Section: Conclusion: Security In a Fragmented Worldmentioning

confidence: 99%

Security in the anthropocene: Environment, ecology, escape

Fagan

2016

European Journal of International Relations

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“…Nevertheless, 'the human' has been the absolute subject of security in IR and security studies -in other words, the field is deeply anthropocentric (Bousquets 2015). Essentially, the dominant conception of security, concentrating only on human well-being, tends to instrumentalise non-humans, which means that even the nonessential needs of human beings are prioritised in relation to the survival of non-humans (Mitchell 2014).…”

Section: Research Challenges and Opportunities For Irmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cities and Water Security in the Anthropocene: Research Challenges and Opportunities for International Relations

Pereira

Freitas

2017

Contexto int.

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Abstract:Cities have become important actors in international relations, and integral to security and environmental politics. We are living in an increasingly urban world, dominated by human settlements and activities. The central role now played by humans in shaping the planet has led us into an uncertain, unstable, and dangerous geological epoch -the Anthropocene -that poses great and additional challenges to security. Local and global spheres are connected as never before, generating 'glocal' issues in which water plays a central role. Water is the element that interconnects the complex web of food, energy, climate, economic growth, and human security. In a rapidly urbanising world, cities influence the hydrological cycle in major but uncertain ways, affecting water resources beyond their boundaries. There is no doubt that these issues are highly relevant to the discipline of International Relations (IR). However, IR scholars have been slow to engage with them, and most academic studies of cities and water security still emanate from the natural sciences. This article examines the ways in which cities in the Anthropocene challenge water security, and why IR needs to reinvent itself if it wants to sustain its contribution to global security.

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“…As Cudworth and Hobden (2015) note, environmental security can no longer be concerned with providing security for something "out there" but should instead focus on reorienting human activities because humans are now geological agents, and our common existence is dependent on our actions. This requires a new ontology and ethics of the "international" that, without removing humans from the top, entangles humans, nonhumans, and objects (Burke et al 2016;Cudworth and Hobden 2013;Mitchell 2014;Salter 2015;Youatt 2014;) and their multiple interactions. Nevertheless, as Bousquet (2015) notes, IR remains deeply anthropocentric in its analysis, and this observation generally has not been criticized.…”

Section: Why the Anthropocene Is Significant For Irmentioning

confidence: 99%

The limitations of ir theory regarding the environment: lessons from the anthropocene

Pereira

2017

Rev. bras. polít. int.

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• Este é um artigo publicado em acesso aberto e distribuído sob os termos da AbstractDespite its relevance in the global arena, the environment does not receive the attention that it deserves within the discipline of International Relations (IR). An analysis of all of the articles published in 20 journals of relevance in IR between 2004 and 2014 supports that environmental issues have largely been disregarded. This article traces IR's distant attitude towards the environment to its conventional disciplinary structures, arguing that the planet's new conditions challenge the discipline's dominant theory. It is suggested that, by rewriting itself and embracing the Anthropocene concept, IR may enhance its relevance and strengthen its impact. Recognizing uncertainty, abandoning the nature-society dichotomy and adopting a post-anthropocentric perspective are some of the possible pathways presented for the future of IR.

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Only human? A worldly approach to security

Cited by 94 publications

References 26 publications

Security in the anthropocene: Environment, ecology, escape

Security in the anthropocene: Environment, ecology, escape

Cities and Water Security in the Anthropocene: Research Challenges and Opportunities for International Relations

The limitations of ir theory regarding the environment: lessons from the anthropocene

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