Culture and Security: Symbolic Power and the Politics of International Security (New International Relations) - Softcover

Williams, Michael

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415417031 ISBN 13: 9780415417037

Publisher: Routledge, 2007

Synopsis

This book examines the role of culture in contemporary security policies, providing a critical overview of the ways in which culture has been theorized in security studies.

Developing a theoretical framework that stresses the relationship between culture, power, security and strategy, the volume argues that cultural practices have been central to transformations in European and US security policy in the wake of the Cold War – including the evolution of NATO and the expansion of the EU. Michael C. Williams maintains that cultural practices continue to play powerful roles in international politics today, where they are essential to grasping the ascendance of neoconservatism in US foreign policy.

Investigating the rise in popularity of culture and constructivism in security studies in relation to the structure and exercise of power in post-Cold War security relations, the book contends that this poses significant challenges for considering the connection between analytic and political practices, and the relationship between scholarship and power in the construction of security relations.

Culture and Security will be of interest to students and researchers in the fields of international relations, security studies and European politics.

About this title

Synopsis:

This book examines the role of culture in modern security policies at a theoretical and practical level. In his latest book, leading expert, Michael Williams traces the transformations in European and US security policy since the end of the Cold War, analyzing NATO and the EU enlargement. "Culture and Security" presents a clear theoretical framework for the analysis of security practice to provide a greater understanding of the relationships between power, culture, security and strategy, underpinning international politics today. Understanding these cultural strategies and the forms of power involved are essential to grasping the ascendance of neoconservatism in US foreign policy, offering key insights into modern transatlantic relations. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of international relations, security studies and European politics.

About the Author:

University of Wales, Aberystwyth, UK

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0415417031
• ISBN 13: 9780415417037
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 184