Nora Görne 
Why is security an “essentially contested concept” and what ways are there to overcome this? [EPUB ebook] 

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Politics – Topic: Peace and Conflict, Security, grade: 1, Utrecht University (Roosevelt Academy), course: Security in the Post-Cold War Era, language: English, abstract: Although it seems that everyone has a basic similar notion of what the term security means and implicates, scholars have struggled to find a coherent definition and disagree on how far the concept can or should be expanded. This essay will show that security is indeed a highly contested concept, but that it has been questioned whether security can also be classified as an “essentially contested concept” in the way Walter Bryce Gallie introduced this term. The criticism of the classification of security as a contested concept as formulated by David Baldwin will be drawn into account as well as Arnold Wolfers’ conclusion that security is a highly subjective matter. Furthermore, Ken Booth’s suggestion for an interpretation of security in terms of emancipation in the Post-Cold War Era will be considered.