ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that civilizational dialogue initiatives, in their current conception, overlook insecurities of referents other than those they are seeking to secure. It focuses on the notion of dialogue on which civilizational dialogue initiatives rest, and calls for approaching civilizational dialogue in a way that is dialogical not only in ethics but also epistemology as well. It is important to note that the proponents of civilizational dialogue do not prioritize non-state referents' insecurities for a reason. Students of critical security studies and proponents of civilizational dialogue initiatives potentially have something to talk about between them. Critical security studies are concerned with insecurities as experienced by individuals, social groups, states and the global environment. From a critical security studies perspective, civilizational dialogue initiatives, given their primary concern with preventing a potential clash between states, come across as prioritizing state security to the neglect of other referents.
