Security in international society: A comment on Alex J. Bellamy and Matt McDonald

Abstract

Although English School (ES) theorists have played a significant and explicit role in security studies, Bellamy and McDonald claim that this has not been the case. However, they fail to show how they have arrived at their conclusion. Moreover, Bellamy and McDonald conflate solidarism with cosmopolitanism, with the result that they wrongly claim that some theorists are ‘weak’ while others are ‘deep’ solidarists. In addition, their attempt to view human security as a reflection of solidarist trends in the ES is welcome, but their method risks undermining the ES. I propose that an ES perspective on security needs to incorporate elements from three streams of thought: pluralism, solidarism and cosmopolitanism. I contend that security ought to be viewed as people centred and that it should be embedded within international society's norms, rules and institutions.

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Notes on contributors

Samuel M. Makinda

Samuel M. Makinda is the Chair of Politics and International Politics at Murdoch University in Perth. His research interests include global security and terrorism, International Relations theories, the United Nations and peacekeeping, and global governance. He is grateful to Dr Jeffrey Harwood and the two referees for their incisive comments on earlier drafts of this article.