ABSTRACT
In a recent report on the state of security studies, Joseph S.Nye and Sean Lynn-Jones argue (1988:25) that the division between the fields of national security and political economy is ‘one of the most serious problems within the discipline of political science.’ According to Nye and Lynn-Jones, scholars on each side of the divide have often ignored the work done on the other side. Barnett (1990:3) has similarly pointed out that too often ‘the study of national security has treated “high politics”, a state’s security relations vis-a-vis other states in the international system, [separately from] “low politics”, societal pressures and the domestic political economy.’ According to Barnett, most studies almost uniformly assume ‘that the domestic political economy and national security issues are separate and distinct spheres.’ In light of the current debate on the size of the defense budget and the “peace dividend”, it is particularly important to integrate the contributions of national security with those of political economy.
