Toward a critical security politics: the UK and the promise of vernacular security

Since the emergence of ‘critical security studies’ (CSS), there has been a disciplinary conversation that asks if it matters to be politically salient: what is the objective of a critical security studies? Should a critical security studies contribute to a critical security politics? While CSS has demonstrated a clear ability to deconstruct and critique contemporary security practices, less attention has been paid to anything like a reconstructive project. This article hopes to make a modest contribution to how CSS might think about developing alternative security discourses and practices. It does so by foregrounding the views of diverse publics on national security politics through a ‘vernacular’ approach. Drawing on ten focus groups with people living in the UK, this research highlights potential critical openings in relation to i) the UK’s alliances and relationships; ii) the centrality of deterrence to the UK’s strategic posture; and iii) perspectives on the UK’s role in the world. In doing so, it makes three contributions. Conceptually, it highlights the utility of a ‘vernacular’ approach for formulating a critical security politics; politically, it shows that national security politics is contested; and strategically, it identifies concrete areas of policy around which a critical security politics might be articulated.