In this blog, Yasaman Roustayar explores how British elites responded to the 1791 Haitian Revolution by framing it as a threat to imperial order. Drawing on the concept of security culture, it shows how politicians, writers, and newspapers portrayed Black resistance as violent and illegitimate. These narratives shaped public perception and justified military intervention. By analyzing discourse and policy, Yasaman argues that “threat” was constructed, revealing how racialized fear became a tool of imperial governance and control.
The Security Catastrophe of the Paris Commune – from the perspective of the communards
In this blog, Magnus Gislason revisits the Paris Commune of 1871 through the lens of security. While often framed as a threat to the French state amid invasion and collapse, the Commune can also be understood from the communards’ own security concerns. By tracing the emergence of a revolutionary “security culture from below,” the blog shows how dominant notions of order and protection were challenged, even if no coherent alternative ever fully took shape.
Faith and Security: The Dynamic Interaction of the Quests that Drove Goebbels and Hitler in the Shadow of Geopolitics
Thomas Weber explores the dynamic relationship between Adolf Hitler's quest for national security and Joseph Goebbels' mission to instill faith in the German people during the Nazi regime.
The Security History Network 