Engaging Adorno: Critical security studies after emancipation

Abstract

Abstract Even though its focus on emancipation purposefully intends to build upon the intellectual legacy of the Frankfurt School, critical security studies has thus far only interpreted the Frankfurt tradition in a circumscribed manner. That is to say, it selectively drew on some concepts from critical theory that are most associated with Jürgen Habermas and Axel Honneth. However, as a result of this emphasis, Booth and Wyn Jones – the original proponents of critical security studies – give too little attention to thinkers such as Theodor W. Adorno. This article demonstrates that a re-engagement with Adorno’s work not only provides a more complete appraisal of the Frankfurt School’s thought, but also might reinvigorate critical security studies as a ‘critical’ approach to security. It proposes that such a result can be achieved by employing Adorno’s ethics of resistance and through the development of the philosophical construct of a constellation of security.