title: Societal security in theory and practice
abstract: ‘Societal security’ has become a popular way in which to conceptualise security in research and practice. This chapter tracks its conceptual lineage, demonstrates that two variants of societal security have emerged, and argues that, while borne from the same intellectual seed, each variant grew along a relatively isolated and narrow pathway. One turned to a focus on the security of cultural identities and employed constructivist methods to understand those identities and what threatens them. The