Can security be sustainable? Three perspectives on security and social sustainability: paradox, co-production, and deconstruction

AbstractSecurity and sustainability are prioritized goals in the “Western liberal” world. Maintaining democratic resources while simultaneously strengthening society’s ability to deal with security issues firmly resonates with ideals associated with social sustainability. However, merging normative theories like security and social sustainability produces c onceptual difficulties that are hard to resolve. Based on key literature in this field and policy documents from the UN, this article uses conceptual analysis to investigate what boundaries and openings three distinct perspectives of the connection between social sustainability and security might pr oduce. The perspectives chosen as illustrative tools are paradox, co-production, and deconstruction. The paradox perspective pronounces inherently divergent qualities of sustainability and security, which implies a trade-off situation. In contrast, the co-production perspective views social sustaina bility as a critical component in security issues, while security, in turn, is a prerequisite for sustainability. A third perspective, deconstruction, highlights underlying processes that produce and prioritize specific meanings. The perspectives of paradox, co-production, and deconstruction identif y how competing values operate in conceptual configurations, highlighting the limitations and possibilities of security measures to accommodate values of social sustainability. Applying distinct approaches as illustrations for disp...

Source: Sustainability Science - January 3, 2024 Category: Science Source Type: research