This introduction sketches the common themes of the five articles in this special section, outlines the importance of studying the security state as a central feature of modern social history, and suggests future avenues for research and analysis of security institutions devoted to policing, surveillance, violence, and control. It focuses particularly on: the globalization of security practices; the relationship between cultural subjectivity, social conditions, and state formation; the generative quality of security state activity; and questions of periodization, causation, and change over time.

中文翻译：

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简介：安全国家的社会历史

本简介概述了本专题中五篇文章的共同主题，概述了研究安全状态作为现代社会历史中心特征的重要性，并提出了未来研究和分析致力于警务、监视、暴力的安全机构的途径, 和控制。它特别关注： 安全实践的全球化；文化主体性、社会条件和国家形成之间的关系；安全状态活动的生成质量；以及周期、因果关系和随时间变化的问题。