The Cult of Security in Contemporary International Relations

The article focuses on the phenomenon of the ‘cult of security,’ which has not yet been adequately studied in international studies. The aim and novelty of the paper is to try to fill this gap and to theorize this phenomenon from the perspective of international politics. The key attention is paid to the issue of the origins of the security cult, which is associated with the process of widening of security in political practice and research literature. In the course of the study, the author applied constructivist and hermeneutic approaches, as well as historiographical analysis. The materials used include two areas of research that reflect the tendency towards widening of security: strategic studies and peace studies. The study concludes that the widening of security since the 1960s has unwittingly contributed to the emergence of a security cult in international politics. Its main feature is the gradual extension of security practices related to the reproduction and construction of social fears to all domains of human and social life. In the long run, the security measures taken further can exacerbate anxiety and conflict in international relations, leading to a further strengthening of these measures, the abolition of the basic principles of liberalism, and the transformation of excessive control into a part of everyday political life. In modern conditions, the cult of security consists of a number of interrelated trends: the widening of the security discourse, the intensification of global geopolitical contradictions, the mediatization of public policy and the activities of ‘security professionals.’ Taken together, these trends can have a long-term effect on the political life of modern societies, going beyond the current geopolitical confrontations. The article concludes with a number of examples of the manifestation of the cult of security in contemporary political practice. The author states the diversity of manifestations of this phenomenon in international life, as well as the need for further research on this subject.