Critical Security Studies is an academic discipline

Academic discipline

An academic discipline, or field of study, is a branch of knowledge that is taught and researched at the college or university level. Disciplines are defined , and recognized by the academic journals in which research is published, and the learned societies and academic departments or faculties to...

 within security studies

Security Studies

This article refers to the discipline within the field of International Relations. For the study of security management see security management studiesSecurity Studies is an academic sub-field of the wider discipline of International Relations...

which rejects mainstream approaches to security

Definition

Some use the term critical security studies to refer to all approaches that are critical of mainstream/orthodox realist approaches. Others see Critical Security Studies as a distinct approach in its own right committed to emancipatory theory.