Security studies, also known as International security studies, is traditionally held to be an academic sub-field of the wider discipline of international relations. The field rapidly developed within International Relations during the Cold War, and examples from the era can be considered to include the academic works of mid-20th century Realist political scientists such as Thomas Schelling and Henry Kissinger, whose works focused primarily on nuclear deterrence. While the field is mostly contained within Political Science and Public Policy programs, it is increasingly common to take an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates knowledge from the fields of History, Geography (stressing classical geopolitics), and Criminology.
While the field (much like its parent field of International Relations) is often meant to educate students who aspire to professional careers in think tanks, consulting, defense contractors, Human Rights NGOs or in government service positions focused on diplomacy, foreign policy, conflict resolution and prevention, emergency and disaster management, intelligence, and defense, it can also be tailored to students seeking to professionally conduct academic research (from either traditional or critical perspectives) within academia, or as public intellectuals, pundits or journalists writing about security policy. One example of the latter students of the field is journalist Max Fisher of The Washington Post and Vox.