Security, War, Violence – The Politics of Critique: A Reply to Barkawi

Abstract

Tarak Barkawi has recently enjoined International Relations and security studies scholars to embark upon a critical study of the phenomenon of war. There is much to agree with in his argument and the idea of ‘critical war studies’ seems particularly apposite in a world where war and other forms of organised or dispersed violence have become increasingly constitutive of daily life. However, the turn to ‘critical war studies’ works by silencing disagreements and homogenising the heterogeneity of critical security studies. Instead, I propose a dialogue that brings to the fore the political stakes of a critique of war, security and violence. Not only have security and war been entwined in complex ways, but I argue that they need to be analysed within a continuum of violence that includes insurrections, revolts, revolutions, insurgencies, rebellions, seditions, disobediences, riots and uprisings.