SURNAME (Must be Blank for blind review); Article Name

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES FOR EXTENDED ABSTRACT

A new educational approach for Security Studies in the XXI Century

at the Department of International Studies and Contemporary History,
Babes-Bolyai University from Cluj-Napoca
PROBLEM OR NOVELTY STATEMENT (min 300, max 500 words)
The current international security environment differs deeply from that of two decades ago, and follows quite
another pattern than that of the previous four decades. Fundamental changes occurred at the end of the Cold
War, which attracted the collapse of the bipolar system of the balance of power. Globalization introduced not
only new opportunities but new challenges, as well, known soon enough as asymmetrical or unconventional.
The first decades that followed the 1990s witnessed a shift of interest from the military domain (hard security) to
the non-military ones (soft security). Personal security has turned into a key priority.
All these developments required and still require new approaches of security, new well-trained experts who can
perceive and understand security matters from a new perspective. Therefore, institutionalized Security Studies in
more numerous universities and an expansion to new analysis levels presented the most rational and natural
option.

Keywords: security studies, hard security, soft security,

METHODOLOGY (min 200, max 350 words)

As a domain of scientific research, Security Studies are a rather recent offspring of the Anglo-Saxon
university environment, which developed them as a splinter sub-science of the International Relations
mainly after the Second World War. The current Security Studies agenda collects a wide range of
theories, trends and approaches. Mention should be made of Constructivism (with its norms, identities
and discourse), Post-colonialism, the School of Copenhagen, Post-culturalism, Institutionalism etc,
each of them based on a particular perspective on security.
The very levels of analysis have expanded from national points of interest to the local, the regional,
the global and the transnational ones. The reference objects for security associated more and more to
the state (which still remains a major stakeholder), to individuals, to ethnic groups, to the nation, to the
environment. Consequently, the obvious question that comes to mind is What research directions
could the Security Studies follow from this point forward?

RESULTS (expected) (min 100, max 150 words)

A multi-disciplinary BA in Security Studies with a duration of three years covers all this different
subjects/security challenges at the Department of International Studies and Contemporary History of
the Faculty of History and Philosophy in the Babes-Bolyai University from Cluj-Napoca. The
master courses of Security Management in Contemporary Society highlight the training and the
involvement of undergraduates in the management of security in the beginning of the XXIst century,
based on a rigorous methodology of teaching and research that amalgamate both theoretical and
practical approaches. Last but not least the The Doctorate School in International Relations and
Security Studies should be mentioned as the most advanced programme that trains experts at the
highest university level in this academic domain.

CONCLUSIONS (expected)
What do the Security Studies investigate today? The answer is a complex one and it goes together with
the theoretical approaches mentioned above. They help to initiate the analysis and try to study the
main security challenges that strike negatively at a global level. The identification of such threats, their
accurate description and understanding, mainly of the ways that may lead to their counterbalance and
ending come as the main goal.