Civilizing Security

Security has become a defining feature of contemporary public discourse, permeating the so-called 'war on terror', problems of everyday crime and disorder, the reconstruction of 'weak' or 'failed' states and the dramatic renaissance of the private security industry. But what does it mean for individuals to be secure, and what is the relationship between security and the practices of the modern state? In this timely and important book, Ian Loader and Neil Walker outline and defend the view that security remains a valuable public good. They argue that the state is indispensable to the task of fostering and sustaining liveable political communities in the contemporary world and thus pivotal to the project of civilizing security. This is a major contribution by two leading scholars in the field and will be of interest to anyone wishing to deepen their understanding of one the most significant and pressing issues of our times. Cover......Page 1 Half-title......Page 3 Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Contents......Page 7 Acknowledgements......Page 9 Prologue On writing about security today......Page 11 1 Uncivil security?......Page 17 Security and its discontents......Page 18 The state of the state......Page 28 The state in policing and security studies......Page 35 Plan of the book......Page 39 PART I On state scepticism......Page 43 2 The state as meddler......Page 45 A note on the study of the state......Page 46 Historical foundations......Page 50 Insecure liberties......Page 61 Liberating security......Page 74 Limits of the meddling critique......Page 78 Conceptual foundations......Page 81 3 The state as partisan......Page 83 Partisan states......Page 84 The new state of exception......Page 92 Against security?......Page 100 4 The state as cultural monolith......Page 104 The particularity of police culture......Page 106 The cultural partiality of state policing......Page 115 Lessons and limits of the monolith critique......Page 125 5 The state as idiot......Page 127 Problems of security governance......Page 130 State-led, police-centric......Page 131 Reconfigurations of state authority......Page 134 The production and limits of state knowledge......Page 137 Promoting nodal governance......Page 141 Bringing the state back in?......Page 145 PART II Securing states of security......Page 151 6 The good of security......Page 153 Security as a ‘thick’ public good......Page 154 Security as an instrumental good......Page 156 Security as a social good......Page 161 Security as a constitutive public good......Page 171 Towards axiomatic security......Page 177 7 The necessary virtue of the state......Page 180 The priority of the state......Page 181 Securing the preconditions of security: five tasks of the state......Page 185 Identification......Page 186 Mobilization and allocation of collective resources......Page 192 Deliberation......Page 195 Regulation......Page 198 Commitment......Page 200 On anchored pluralism......Page 202 8 The democratic governance of security......Page 205 Four pathologies of modern security......Page 206 Paternalism......Page 207 Consumerism......Page 211 Authoritarianism......Page 216 Fragmentation......Page 219 Turning vicious into virtuous circles......Page 222 The practice of civilizing security......Page 225 Resources......Page 226 Recognition......Page 230 Rights......Page 233 Reasons......Page 237 9 Security as a global public good......Page 244 In search of the transnational public interest......Page 247 Models of transnational security......Page 256 The state-centric approach......Page 257 The new unilateralism......Page 259 Security regimes or communities......Page 261 Global civil society......Page 264 Cosmopolitanism......Page 266 Security as a global public good......Page 268 References......Page 275 Index......Page 307 What does it mean for individuals to be secure, and what is the relationship between security and the practices of the modern state? In this book, the authors outline and defend the view that security remains a valuable public good. They argue that the state is indispensable to the task of fostering and sustaining liveable political communities in the contemporary world and thus pivotal to the project of civilizing security Two leading scholars in the field assess the role of the state in civilising security. This is a multi-disciplinary work that draws on research and reflection in sociology, criminology, public law, regulation and international security studies