Introduction to the Symposium on J. Benton Heath, “Making Sense of Security”

2 A version of this, the “full protection and security” clause, is now standard in thousands of bilateral investment treaties, although the protected security is confined to the property of the foreign investor, rather than foreign persons.3 Exploring many uses and allures of security, J. Benton Heath's wide-ranging article seeks to “make sense” of this protean and contested concept. ” “Realist” approaches might be thought of as the classic, conventional approach to security—one that focuses on the state and the use of force and emergency measures; “widened” approaches consider the issues raised by expanding the concept of security to issues such as climate change; “discursive” approaches to security question classic force based security paradigms, and attempt to shift away from “threat response” and securitization; and “pluralist” approaches contest the classic paradigm by shifting focus away from the state, by exploring how communities, often those harmed by classic approaches to security, formulate alternative understandings of security, and ways of achieving them. The UN secretary-general has devised an “Action Plan to Prevent Violent Extremism,” and multiple levels of national governments, the private sector, non-governmental organizations, and other entities are involved in constructing and occupying this field, with organizations such as Hedayah, a think tank producing research on terrorism, prescribing best practices, coordinating with governments, and developing further networks. Craig Martin of Washburn University School of Law asks a very specific question: should climate change be characterized as a “security” issue?