Citizenship and security

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Introduction
Current / recent research projects
Potential supervisors
Further information

Security and citizenship are two increasingly interlinked political theory concepts. From human security to climate change and terrorism – questions of security inevitably involve citizens, be it as resilient, responsible, vigilant, resisting or vulnerable. Similarly, discussions of citizenship and rights involve questions of security and social cohesion, while conflict resolution depends upon understandings of citizenship and rights. This research topic aims to integrate theoretical and methodological advances in citizenship studies with critical methods in security studies. The OU has a strong interdisciplinary approach to both citizenship and security studies in its Centre for Citizenship, Identities and Governance.

Qualifications available:: PhD or MPhil
Fees:: For detailed information on current fees visit Fees and funding.
Entry requirements:: Minimum 2:1 (or equivalent)

Current / recent research projects

The ENACT consortium, funded by the EU under the FP7 research programme, brought together researchers from three member states of the EU (UK, Belgium and the Netherlands), two new member states (Hungary and Latvia) and a candidate state (Turkey) to explore in depth how European citizenship is claimed, disputed and built – in short, to explore how citizenship is enacted. POLIS is now home to a European Research Council Advanced Grant for the project Oecumene: Citizenship after Orientalism. The project focuses on the interaction between two controversial and contested concepts: citizenship (the process by which belonging is recognised and enacted) and orientalism (the assertion of the superiority of western culture over its eastern counterparts).