Citation

Klaebel A. J. Hum. Secur. 2008; 4(1): 4-17.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Librello Publishing)

DOI

10.3316/JHS0401004

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This article critically investigates the objectivist concept of 'security' whether in traditional or critical security studies. Starting from an Augustinian conception of human time, the article investigates the epistemological question of how people make sense of future being. This is a critical question in discussions of security. It is exactly future 'existence' that is presented as perilous in security discourses. This article argues that it is not some future realities that prompt insecurity, but rather the different narratives people internalise that present them with threats and solutions. In this perspective, security should be seen as embedded in a self-referential system of meaning, rather than as a function of some ontological condition. The narrative perspective on security provides a critical platform for ethical inquiry into the 'necessities' so often presented to shield security discourses from critique.