Security and Order. Political sociological thoughts on a (once again) relevant topic

Security is a classical collective good. Starting point is the question how to maintain security and public order in modem societies and how to avoid the bellum omnium contra omnes. Securing internal and external peace, freed om and social welfare is one of the most prominent goals of a democratic so ciety and its institutions. Security is considered a central concept in soc ial sciences as well as in constitutional law. An analytical model of secur ity is proposed, containing different spheres of security (social, economic , political, moral) in the political realm. From that point of departure th e role of the state as guarantor and trustee of security and its preventive and repressive functions to protect security in the public space are discu ssed. Of specific interest is the problem of maintaining law and order. Con trary to one-sided concepts of civil liberties or security oriented studies it is maintained that keeping the peace, preventing internal (and external ) security and defending civil liberties are both genuin areas of responsib ility of the state, but, in reality, quite often conflicting goals.