In a New Land:Mobile Phones, Amplified Pressures and Reduced Capabilities

Framed within the theoretical lens of positive and negative security, this paper presents a study of newcomers to Sweden and the roles of mobile phones in the establishment of a new life. Using creative engagement methods through a series of workshops, two researchers engaged 70 adult participants enrolled into further education colleges in Sweden. Group narratives about mobile phone use were captured in creative outputs, researcher observations and notes and were analysed using thematic analysis. Key findings show that the mobile phone offers security for individuals and a safe space for newcomers to establish a new life in a new land as well as capitalising on other spaces of safety, such as maintaining old ties. This usage produces a series of threats and vulnerabilities beyond traditional technological security thinking related to mobile phone use. The paper concludes with recommendations for policies and support strategies for those working with newcomers

Stretching the IR theoretical spectrum on Irish neutrality: a critical social constructivist framework

In a 2006 International Political Science Review article, entitled "Choosing to Go It Alone: Irish Neutrality in Theoretical and Comparative Perspective," Neal G. Jesse argues that Irish neutrality is best understood through a neoliberal rather than a neorealist international relations theory framework. This article posits an alternative "critical social constructivist" framework for understanding Irish neutrality. The first part of the article considers the differences between neoliberalism and social constructivism and argues why critical social constructivism's emphasis on beliefs, identity, and the agency of the public in foreign policy are key factors explaining Irish neutrality today. Using public opinion data, the second part of the article tests whether national identity, independence, ethnocentrism, attitudes to Northern Ireland, and efficacy are factors driving public support for Irish neutrality. The results show that public attitudes to Irish neutrality are structured along the dimensions of independence and identity, indicating empirical support for a critical social constructivist framework of understanding of Irish neutrality

"Conclusión: la seguridad y la elección moral" en Security, Identity and Interest. A Sociology of International Relations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999.

El libro Security Identity and Interests: A Sociology of International Relations analiza el problema de la seguridad en relaciones internacionales y las lecturas que de este complejo y controvertido tema se han ofrecido desde la academia. El texto traducido es el capítulo final del libro, con el que Bill McSweeney profundiza en una explicación alternativa de la seguridad y del orden social a la que ofrece el neorrealismo, entre otras, proponiendo una “teoría reflexiva del orden social” que se detiene en el carácter fluctuante de esta, y en sus posibilidades de cambio. In "Security Identity and Interests: A Sociology of International Relations", Bill McSweeny analyzes the issue of security in international relations, giving due consideration to all the interpretations that this complex and controversial subject has fostered within the academia. The translated text offered in this issue is the book’s last chapter. In it, the author elaborates an alternative explanation of security and social order to the one offered by neorealism, among others, promoting “a reflexive theory of the social order” that dwells on its fluctuating character, as well as on its possibilities for change

"The Evolution of Security Cooperation in the European Community, 1981-1991"

[Summary]. The intention in the first part of this study is to construct an initial framework for the analysis of security in the EC and to formulate some tentative hypotheses about the underlying pressures for security cooperation which have characterized the Community’s development as an international actor. Following an introductory chapter on terms of reference and positions taken with regard to a defence identity, a chronological account of the main issues relevant to security cooperation provides the basis for analysis. This analysis takes the form of a discussion of the sociological dimensions of security in the nation state, from which a comparison is then drawn with the main themes in the Community’s history. Similar patterns of influence, or pressure, emerge, suggesting some structural similarities between the EC and the nation or federal state, which give rise tu them. But there are significant differences, pointing to the way in which the Community has evolved as a distinctive international actor and to the new context in which its need for security is being articulated

From the ‘Frying-Pan’ into the ‘Fire’? Antidotes to Confirmatory Bias in Case-Study Research

This paper sets out three antidotes against confirmatory bias in case-study research. We take a step back, as it were, from the generalizable-or-not debate and consider a prior issue: the local accuracy of the findings. The antidotes are method free and “substance free” (Schum, 2001), that is to say, they transcend the differences in types of research methods and evidentiary data. The properties of these antidotes/tests are described and located in both accounting and a wider literature. The characteristics of each antidote are further considered, and the adverse consequences of the failure to apply them are illustrated through analysis of a number of case-studies by leading accounting and management writers. The unpacking of these cases also shows how engagement with case-study situations through the three processes opens up the possibility of richer and more valid research using this methodology