Andrew Neal

My work bridges critical security studies with practical political questions. I'm particularly interested in:
- How security policy has become more open and public since the Cold War
- The evolution of security discourse and threat perceptions
- Parliamentary approaches to security
- The politics of securitization
- Scotland's security landscape

My recent book "Security as Politics: Beyond the State of Exception" (Edinburgh University Press, 2019) explores these themes in depth.

I lead a major project that has created what may be the largest database of national security and defence documents ever assembled. The National Security and Defence Documents Dataset (1987-2024) contains 607 documents from 119 countries, offering unprecedented insights into how states articulate their security priorities.

What makes this dataset special is its comprehensive scope and accessibility:
- All documents are machine-readable with translations where needed
- Rich metadata covering around 50 different variables
- Sophisticated semantic search capabilities
- Cloud-based computing platform for collaborative research
- Open access through the University of Edinburgh

Our analysis has revealed fascinating patterns, such as the shift from traditional military threats to non-traditional security challenges, and striking differences between Global North and South approaches to security. The dataset has been supported by multiple funders including the Scottish Council on Global Affairs, the BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants, and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.