Securitization (international relations)

Securitization in international relations and national politics is the process of state actors transforming subjects from regular political issues into matters of "security". While the "Copenhagen School" originally focused on a logic of exception, where security is defined by crisis and the suspension of normal politics, later work, often associated with the Paris School, also recognized a logic of routine, suggesting that securitization occurs through mundane bureaucratic practices and surveillance technologies. Both logics function across material, discursive, and psychological dimensions.

Issues that become securitized do not necessarily represent issues that are essential to the objective survival of a state, but rather represent issues where someone was successful in constructing an issue into an existential problem.

Securitization theorists assert that successfully securitized subjects receive disproportionate amounts of attention and resources compared to unsuccessfully securitized subjects causing more human damage. A common example used by theorists is how terrorism is a top priority in security discussions, even though people are much more likely to be killed by automobiles or preventable diseases than from terrorism. Securitization studies aims to understand "who securitizes (securitizing actor), on what issues (threats), for whom (referent object), why, with what results, and not least, under what conditions."

Origin

Within international relations, the concept is connected with the Copenhagen School and is seen as a synthesis of constructivist and classical political realism in its approach. The term was coined by Ole Wæver in 1993, but seems to have become commonplace, at least within constructivist studies of international relations.

Definition

Securitization begins with a speech act concerning a particular threat, by an authoritative national leader, institution, or party. The speech act attempts to shift the threat from normal politics into a security concern, thereby legitimating extraordinary measures to contain the threat.