International Political Sociology: Researching the Practice of Security
Abstract
Critical security studies have become increasingly popular among Czech
scholars, but most studies in this field are based on securitization theory
and other discursive approaches to security analysis. This paper argues for
broadening the scope of theoretical approaches to security studies and
introduces International Political Sociology as a promising strand of
research in this respect. International Political Sociology is based on the
study of security as practice, and offers a more complex understanding of
how security is constructed and performed. The article discusses the
theoretical roots of this approach, reviews the main strands of
contemporary International Political Sociology research, and introduces its
analytical tools. Finally, the paper critically reflects on the theoretical,
methodological and empirical aspects of International Political Sociology
and outlines possible avenues for this research in the Central European
context.
Keywords
International Political Sociology, security practices, securitization, methodology, field analysis
Author Biography
Jan Daniel
Jan Daniel, born in 1987, he is a researcher at the Institute of International Relations
and a PhD candidate at the Institute of Political Studies of the Department
of International Relations of the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles
University in Prague. He completed a master's degree in International
Relations at the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, and
before that, his undergraduate studies were in International Relations and
Security Studies, also at Masaryk University. Academically he focuses on
armed non-state actors, hybrid security regimes, the Middle East,
international political sociology and critical theory of security. During his
studies, he completed internships and study abroad programmes in Berlin,
Beirut and Bologna.
Dagmar Rychnovská
Dagmar Rychnovská, born in 1987, she is a PhD candidate in International Relations at the Institute of Political Studies at Charles University in Prague. She completed
graduate programs in Comparative and International Studies (ETH Zurich)
and Law and Politics of International Security (VU University Amsterdam). In
her research she focuses on innovations in the safety regulation of science
that are associated with the regime of prohibition of biological weapons. Other areas of her research interest include critical security studies and
security and technology.