Page 159 - 《国际安全研究》2022年第4期

Vo1. 40, No. 4, July/August 2022

Abstract

3 Reorientation of National Security Studies under the Framework of
the General Security Theory
YU Xiaofeng and ZHANG Yadi

[Abstract] The discipline construction of national security studies is supposed to break
down the barriers brought about by the traditional security thinking so as to take into
consideration all the aspects of national security studies in line with the “general security”
thinking when the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century. Security is
a shared order that presents a state of “peace-cooperation”. What the general security
theory intends to highlight is the value connotation of “peace-cooperativism” that
embodies Chinese wisdom. The “general security” configuration which has taken shape
along with the transformation of the outlook on the times, the expansion and deepening
of security theories and the institutionalization of security researches renders itself as a
“comprehensive context” for national security studies. National security should not only
pay attention to security technologies, security issues, security threats and security crises,
but also pay a high premium on security values, security structures, security trends and
security strategies. A holistic approach to national security is an important milestone in
the development of national security thoughts with Chinese characteristics. It is also an
“overall concept” that guides the discipline construction of Chinese national security
studies. “People-centeredness”, “systematicness” and “openness” are the key theoretical
characteristics of a holistic approach to national security, which constructs an all-round
value coordinate for the reorientation of national security studies. The feature of “broad
interdisciplinariness” in national security studies is reflected in the logical positioning of
“hybrid disciplines”, the construction of three theoretical forms of national security studies,
the ontological reflection of “relational reality”, the revelation of the orientation of
“domain extensibility” and “disciplinary reverse inclusion”, and the exploration of
training objectives and pathways of “亦”-type national security professionals of high
caliber. The three dimensions featuring “comprehensive context”, “overall concept” and
“broad interdisciplinariness” set the new coordinates for the “reorientation” of national
security studies with Chinese characteristics.
[Keywords] general security theory, a holistic approach to national security, non-
traditional security, national security studies, hybrid discipline, 亦-type professionals
[Authors] YU Xiaofeng, Director and Professor, Centre for Non-Traditional Security &
Peaceful Development Studies, Zhejiang University (Hangzhou, 310058); ZHANG Yadi,
Doctor of Management, Lecturer at School of Journalism and Communication,
Chongqing University (Chongqing, 400045).