Global Security Assemblages and International Law

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Global Security Assemblages and International Law: A Socio-Legal Study of Emergency in Motion

A British Academy Newton mobility grants funded project

Global security is increasingly concerned with threats posed by non-state actors. This has shifted the focus from the maintenance of peace and security among states to the management of risks from diverse actors associated with terrorism and violent extremism.

As a consequence, the international legal system designed in the post-War era, with the UN Security Council at its centre, is moving towards an evolving complex of actors assembled together to prevent global threats – from traditional international organizations and states to informal networks, private companies and NGOs. Old and new actors do not operate on parallel tracks but in tandem, to more efficiently counter terrorism in its changing manifestations.

This project analyses whether international law today results from the interplay within these security assemblages, and maps their legal and political effects.

The project develops a new collaboration between ITAM University (Mexico) and the University of Kent (UK).