About the Centre for Security Studies

at the Jindal School of International Affairs, Sonipat

The Centre for Security Studies (CSS) was established in 2020 as the Jindal School of International Affairs’ first student-run research centre under the aegis of Prof. Dr. Pankaj K Jha. CSS, as its name suggests, is dedicated to the study of security in today’s international environment, which has seen the development of the importance of security across all levels: individuals, societies, political bodies and international organizations.

While CSS concentrates more specifically on topics of security, it situates itself in the larger domain of international relations studies. International security is in the end not merely defined by the concept of war or the efforts to mitigate it, but rather goes far beyond it to encompass a vast plethora of issues. Every action of every actor in the international system defines the concept of security both for itself and for others in the system. In this, the concept of international security has been expanded to reflect not merely the study of state security, but also include topics like ethnic, sectarian and religious conflict; civil wars and state failure; cyber and space warfare; resource related security issues; the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; defence economics and also the role of ethics or morality in the formulation of security policies.

The security environment has continued to change and diversify with the progress of time. While concerns during earlier generations included superpower rivalry and nuclear weapons, the focus today has shifted to sectors of political, economic, military, environmental and social life. These sectors factor into the construction of an image that accurately represents the trends having an impact on the development of interests and objectives, ensuing the formulation of foreign policy.

The complexity of these matters is what the Centre for Security Studies attempts to unfold. Researchers at CSS – through in-depth analysis briefs and events, reports, policy briefs and print publications – explore both regional and thematic topics in the broader field of international security studies.