Giorgio Shani
Giorgio Shani is Professor of Politics and International Relations at International Christian University. Author of Sikh Nationalism and Identity in a Global Age (Routledge 2008) and Religion, Identity and Human Security (Routledge 2014), he has also co-edited Religion and Nationalism in Asia (Routledge 2019). All are available paperback. He served as President of the Asia-Pacific region of the International Studies Association (2014-2018) and was senior visiting fellow at the LSE in 2016.
Subjects: Political Science, Religion
Biography
Coming from a mixed ethnic background and now living and working in Japan, I have had to negotiate cultural boundaries as part of everyday life from an early age. This has led me to appreciate the role which culture and identity can play in International Relations and its role in providing human (or existential) security for individuals and communities. Culture, in my view, is not the "ethnic property" of a particular group but is that which gives meaning to human life. It is fluid and cannot be contained in the territorial container of the nation-state but continues to shape and define human existence in many different spaces. As such, it is an inherently political concept and the focus of my research.Education
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PhD Politics of South Asia, SOAS, University of London
MSc Politics of Asia and Africa, SOAS, University of London
BSc (Econ) International Relations, LSE
Areas of Research / Professional Expertise
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1. Religion and International Relations Theory
2. Nationalism and Diasporic identities
3. Postcolonialism
4. Critical Theory
5. Human Security
Personal Interests
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1.Football
2. Film
Websites
Books
Articles
Human Security: A Post-Secular Approach
Published: Oct 31, 2014 by Journal of Human Security Studies
Authors: Giorgio Shani
Subjects:
Religion, Anthropology - Soc Sci
Two decades ago the United Nations Development Program introduced the concept of Human Security as safety from existential threats as an alternative to conventional approaches to security. Critically reworked, however, this article argues that human security has the potential to constitute a powerful ‘global ethic’ by engaging with the multiple religio-cultural contexts in which human dignity is embedded. For human security to aspire to universality, it needs to be post-secular.
Human Security at Twenty: Civilizing Process or Civilizing Mission?
Published: Jun 19, 2014 by E-IR
Authors: Giorgio Shani
This article seeks to critically interrogate the view that the emergence of ‘human security’ can be seen as a manifestation of what Norbert Elias termed the civilizing process. It is argued that it may instead be viewed as the latest instantiation of the ‘civilizing mission’ facilitating the continued intervention of the western-dominated ‘international community’ in previously colonized areas of the world.