Securitization and the Social Construction of Security

Abstract

In the history of political thought, the parable of fear occupies anything but a negligible place as we find it in some of the central text of both classical as well as contemporary political thought. Nevertheless, the modern conception of fear that forms the basis of the ‘strategy of securitization’ is a much more complex and controversial phenomenon as it starts to figure as a common denominator of a whole range of mutually [at least seemingly] diverse phenomena and related problems. This paper aims to present a comprehensive analysis of the strategy of securitization and the related phenomenon of the social construction of security. The introductory part identifies some of the neglected or overlooked dimensions of the debate on radicalization and violent extremism. The central part analyzes the individual elements of the strategy of securitization together with a range of issues that this strategy raises. This is followed by a problematization of the impact of the strategy of securitization on the phenomenon of the ‘shrinking civic space’. The concluding part emphasizes the a shift of emphasis in the context of redefining the relationship between ensuring security on the one hand and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms on the other.