From War to Security: Security Studies, the Wider Agenda and the Fate of the Study of War

Abstract

This article critiques the wider agenda in security studies from the perspective of the idea of a war studies. It argues that security studies in any form has not adequately addressed the phenomenon of war and that IR more generally reduces war to an effect of the states system. An analysis of inquiry into the Second World War illuminates these points, while the Vietnam War is mobilised to show how the study of war can refigure our understanding of the international as a distinct social space. The conclusion suggests a new critical research agenda centred on politics, force, and war.