The Iron Fist of Liberal Intervention Inside the Velvet Glove of Kantian Idealism: A Response to Burke

We argue that Burke's theory of security cosmopolitanism suffers from a number of problems. These include the fact he operates with a simplistic account of current cosmopolitan thinking on security; he purports to offer a radical critique of state-centric approaches to security, but his analysis still privileges the state; he argues for security from below but ends up advocating governance by elites and experts; he offers an inadequate theory of change; he fails to address the extensive literature discussing the processes by which security issues are constructed; and his treatment of human security leaves him open to the many criticisms that have been levelled at the concept. We conclude with some very brief thoughts on our alternative concept of ‘life welfare’.