Security Studies

Conflict and security studies analyse the causes of war and violence and the means of providing security — from interstate war to civil conflict and strategy.

Scope

It covers the causes of war, deterrence and strategy, civil war and political violence, and national and international security.

Core questions

• Why do wars occur?
• How can deterrence and strategy prevent conflict?
• What causes civil war and political violence?
• How is security best provided?

Key concepts

• Deterrence
• Bargaining and war
• Security dilemma
• Anarchy
• Civil war
• Strategy

Key theories

Strategy and deterrence

Schelling applied game theory to conflict, bargaining, and deterrence between adversaries.

Structural realism and security

Waltz located the recurrence of war in the anarchic structure of the international system.

Rationalist explanations for war

Fearon showed that, since war is costly, rationalist accounts must explain bargaining failures (private information, commitment problems).

History

Security studies developed strategic and deterrence theory (Schelling) in the nuclear age, structural-realist accounts of war (Waltz), and the rationalist bargaining model of war (Fearon), expanding after the Cold War to civil conflict and human security.

Debates

Why do rational states fight?

If war is costly, explaining it requires identifying the bargaining failures that prevent peaceful settlement.

Key figures

• Thomas Schelling
• Kenneth Waltz
• James Fearon

Seminal works

• schelling-1960
• waltz-1979
• fearon-1995

Frequently asked questions

What are rationalist explanations for war?

Accounts (Fearon) that, taking war as costly, locate its causes in bargaining failures such as private information, incentives to misrepresent, and commitment problems.