Important security constellations within the state, suggest that at the local level the state is no longer a referent object of security but rather one stakeholder among many. My thesis challenges the assumption of a fixed hierarchy between stakeholders in the security landscape at the local level. By exploring interorganisational collaboration in the security context I illustrate that this is feasible, in a way that allows a new way of seeing non-state actors as the whole, and the state as a component part. I have used an interdisciplinary approach to open up a new viewpoint and appropriately conceptualise security at the local level. The context within which security collaborations exist at the local level are often underexplored, and my insights contribute to the Security debate, and the Interorganisational Collaboration (IOC) debate. My research philosophy reflects a constructivist ontology and an interpretivist epistemology, which focuses on understanding how people perceive the world. I used a qualitative research approach to draw rich insights from my research settings, to help me understand the phenomenon of organising for security, and how this is interpreted to mean different things by different local security actors. By highlighting how the role of space and placemaking are used to create boundaries that serve security objectives, my research has added a new dimension to understanding collaboration dynamics. Information sharing is a key resource that helps stakeholders speak the same language, define the identity of spaces, and exclude unwanted others. Key to speaking the same language is the formation of placemaking rituals and information sharing routines, which help stakeholders understand each other and create certainty in a very uncertain security landscape. The significance of my findings shed light on how organisational and network learning is influenced by the role and use of space.
Permanent link to this resource: https://doi.org/10.24384/FWC9-0135
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Gichanga, Margaret Wambui
Supervisors: Koning, Juliette; Ciuk, Sylwia; Noortmann, Math
Oxford Brookes Business School
Year: 2024
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