The Public Security Issue Area

Public security remains a central issue across the globe. Approaches to studying this issue area have largely followed two orientations: one conceptualizes security along an ideologically dictated unidimensional spectrum, ranging from tough-on-crime strategies (right-wing) to social policy-oriented alternatives (left-wing). The other examines specific security strategies without assuming a singular ideological continuum. This paper bridges these orientations by offering a conceptual framework that more holistically defines the structure of this issue area. Using computational text analysis of Brazilian gubernatorial campaign proposals (2010–2022) and over 100 expert interviews, I assess the validity of the unidimensional heuristic and propose an alternative mapping of public security policies across four categories: crime prevention, repression, human rights and accountability, and pro-police reform. Findings demonstrate that (1) these policy categories are not fundamentally mutually exclusive, and (2) while ideology does help us understand who proposes certain public security portfolios, there is substantial ideological intra-group heterogeneity.