21 November 2006

securitise this...

now that I'm a politics person I'm learning you can talk about 'security' with regard to more than just military security or the security of the territorial boundaries of a state. one can speak of the feelings of security one has as a resident of said state, the security in knowing that your human rights aren't being violated (probably) and the like.

part of me likes the idea of moving political science beyond this strict state-centered/militaristic focus, sure. but it seems this has gone a bit far.

as with the US shifting the discourse around hunger to one of security.

conclusion? hunger no longer exists in the US. hurrah!
it's now low or very low food security. awesome.

click here for my favourite epidemiology blog's take on this.

1 comment:

Dan said...

Despite Bush's many humorous/embarrassing slip-ups when he speaks, the Bush administration has very effectively used language to shift the way people talk about issues. One could even say that this administration addresses a given situation at the level of language first, before moving on to other aspects of reality. Like hunger, for example.