Dominada durante a Guerra Fria pelas dinâmicas de segurança determinadas pelo conflito bipolar, a Europa Ocidental experimentou uma guinada nas dinâmicas de securitização no cenário pós-muro de Berlim consubstanciada pelo surgimento da concepção de novas ameaças integrantes do novo panorama de segurança da União Européia. Uma teia difusa de problemas começou a ser objeto de discursos legitimadores de políticas de emergência que alçaram o topo da agenda no campo da Cooperação européia em Justiça e Assuntos Internos numa Europa Ocidental sem fronteiras internas, conforme os Acordos de Schengen. Assim, começou a ter espaço o redimensionamento da noção de segurança na Europa e uma europeanização da segurança nacional que se traduziu no aprofundamento da cooperação securitária interna. A imigração, como elemento integrante do campo de Justiça e Assuntos Internos, conheceu essa transformação em problema de segurança a partir da década de 1980. O fenômeno pode ser claramente observado nas fronteiras que separam Espanha do Norte da África, em especial o Marrocos. A porosidade das fronteiras espanholas, despreparadas para lidar com o fenômeno da imigração, provocou um aumento progressivo na entrada de marroquinos no país durante os anos 1980, principalmente após o ingresso da Espanha nas Comunidades Européias em 1986. O acesso da Espanha aos Acordos de Schengen em 1991 ocasionou um maior controle de fronteiras pelo país, que passou a exigir visto de entrada aos imigrantes marroquinos. A medida seguiu-se à implantação de uma legislação imigratória restritiva no país, de proteção do mercado de trabalho interno, que provocou o aumento da clandestinidade dos residentes. Durante uma década, marcada por políticas de regularização e/ou retorno de imigrantes ilegais, a Espanha consolidou um sistema de controle imigratório que seguiu a tendência predominante em toda a União Européia: a securitização do controle dos fluxos, especialmente os ilegais, reflexo das dinâmicas de securitização que passaram a integrar o panorama de segurança da Europa após a Guerra Fria. Essa securitização não é construída objetivamente. Sua realização se dá pela retórica de segurança que gera a tomada de medidas urgentes, ainda que o problema não se constitua necessariamente numa ameaça em termos objetivos. O problema da imigração ilegal na Europa é, a priori, um problema social, originado pelas parcas condições socioeconômicas que os imigrantes possuem em seus países de origem. Mas a retórica de segurança que predomina à menção do tema, a associação quase imediata da imigração ilegal com o terrorismo, desconsidera as razões econômicas e políticas que motivam a realização do fenômeno, e restringe sua lida quase que exclusivamente à esfera securitária. A relevância do tema vem, portanto, da necessidade da investigação empírica dos mecanismos de securitização que tornaram a imigração ilegal um problema de segurança. Os grandes atentados terroristas inaugurados pelo 11 de Setembro de 2001 aprofundaram esse nexo segurança-migração, o que justifica a pesquisa do impacto desse terrorismo global na securitização da imigração ilegal, especialmente na fronteira Espanha-Marrocos. / Ruled, during the Cold War, by the security dynamics of the bipolar conflict, West Europe has experimented a significant change in its securitization dynamics in post-wall scenario, since the arrival of new conceptions of threat integrating the new security framework of the European Union. A numerous amount of problems has started to be object of discourses trying to legitimate emergency politics that have reached the top of the Agenda in the field of European cooperation in Justice and Home Affairs, in an Europe without internal barriers. Therefore, a new dimension of the notion of security in Europe has started to take place, originating an europeanization of the national securities, improving the internal security cooperation. Immigration, as part of the field of Justice and Home Affairs, has turned into a security problem since the 1980’s. This happens very clearly in the boundaries between Spain and North Africa, specially Morocco. The weak spanish frontiers were not prepared to deal with the immigration phenomenon. A consequence was the progressive raise of moroccan entry in the country during the 1980’s, specially after Spain’s access to the European Communities in 1986. The entering of Spain to the Schengen community has caused the improvement of the boundaries’ control across the country, that had started to demand an entry visa to morrocan immigrants. Following this measure, Spain issued a restrictive migratory legislation, including protection of the internal job market, causing a raise of illegal residents. During a whole decade, marked by regularizations and/or return of illegal migrants, Spain has made strong a migratory control system that has followed the main trend all over European Union: the securitization of the illegal migration, as a reflex of the securitization dynamics that started to integrate the European security framework after the Cold War. This securitization is not objectively constructed. Its realization happens trough the security rhetoric that leads to urgent measures, even when the problem does not constitute a threat, objectively speaking. The “problem” of illegal immigration in Europe is, at first, a social problem, caused by the poor social and economic conditions of countries of origin. Nevertheless, the security rhetoric spoken in every mention of the theme and the almost immediate association between illegal immigration and terrorism is not aware of the economic and political reasons that motivate the phenomenon, that is dealed with in a security scope. The importance of the theme is, therefore, the necessity of empiric investigation of the securitization mechanisms that have turned illegal immigration into a security problem. The great terrorists attacks that have started in September 11th 2001 caused the grown of the security-migration nexus, justifying the research about the impact of the global terrorism in the securitization of illegal immigration, specially in Spain-Morocco frontier.

This thesis deals with identification, analysis and critical assessment of challenges for international relations arising in the Arctic in connection with global climate change, which results mainly into decrease of the sea ice. Copenhagen School forms the primary theoretical bedrock of the thesis. The thesis maps the approach of different theoretical paradigms to the Arctic region throughout the history and on this basis it justifies the relevance of application of the concept of security sectors defined by Copenhagen School on the region. The thesis also maps the current governance mechanisms of the Arctic region as far as international law and institutional arrangements are concerned. The analysis of concrete challenges for international relations is structured according to the sectors of security defined by Copenhagen School. Thus, challenges in the environmental, societal, economic, political and military sectors are examined.

Language and discourse can create a space where political decision-making and action is accepted despite its untypical nature. The goal of the study is to un-derstand how political discourse is constructed with the aim of legitimizing ex-traordinary action in relation to the framework of securitization. The study revolves around how and why President Trump discursively attempts to legitimize his order that led to the assassination of Iranian Major General Soleimani, on the 2nd of Jan-uary 2020, by conducting a discourse analysis of two speeches delivered within the first week following the event. The study contributes with insight on the particular case, and shows how Maj. Gen. Soleimani is represented as an irrational terrorist, who posed imminent danger to the American people. The act attempted legitimized is presented as done in the name of ‘security’ which seeks to justify the notion of President Trump ‘breaking free’ of usual procedures. The main conclusions of the study are the presented legitimatization strategies, including the linguistic constella-tion of an existential threat, the allusion of a hypothetical future and the exploitation of emotional trauma. Moreover, the findings uncover that a securitization move has taken place within the analyzed speeches.

HIV/AIDS is for many decades one of the major global health issues. It has, therefore, attracted attention of scholars from different fields of study, including security studies. This Master's Thesis seeks to contribute to debates surrounding the issue of securitizing the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The main aim of this thesis is to apply the Copenhagen School's theoretical framework on the case of HIV/AIDS, evaluate the possibility of explaining the international reaction to the pandemic through securitization, and assess whether or not the HIV/AIDS was successfully securitized in South Africa, mainly through effort of the relevant international actors. The case of the Republic of South Africa was chosen because it is one of the worst affected countries by the disease in the world. After discussing the Copenhagen School's securitization theory and its critics, the origins, progression and nature of the disease is explained. The thesis then proceeds with the description and examination of the current state of the epidemic in South Africa as well as the negative influence the segregation and apartheid policy had on the perception of the disease and its spread. The thesis looks at possible securitizing actors of the issue and analysis their discourse in the search for securitizing moves associated with...

This thesis scrutinises the European Commission’s discourse surrounding the externalisation of migration and asylum policies and discusses what potential implications this may have on the right to asylum. The aim of this work is to increase the understanding of how migration and security are discursively connected and identify what this discourse looks like. The study is placed in the context of a scientific debate on the Securitisation of migration and the externalisation of migration management. By means of a Critical Discourse Analysis, based on the work of Norman Fairclough, speeches and press releases produced by the European Commission are analysed. The analysis departs from the theoretical framework of the Copenhagen School of Security Studies and the concept of Securitisation, which suggests that political narratives have direct effects on policies. The theory also argues that when a phenomenon is securitised, policy measures that would otherwise not be acceptable, become legitimised in dealing with a constructed threat. The thesis presents three findings. The first main finding is that the Commission legitimises the externalisation of EU borders through a humanitarian discourse, arguing that the increased restrictions and shifting of responsibilities to third countries are necessary to protect migrants from human smugglers. Second, the current EU agenda risks limiting mobility in countries outside of the EU, thus creating large camps with substandard living conditions. And finally, from a human rights perspective, there is a great risk with the continued collective expulsions and pushbacks from EU territory, given that the mandate of Frontex is only seen to increase.

Securitization of an Imaginary Threat as an Authoritarian Legitimation Instrument: The Cases of Belarus and Uzbekistan. July 2021 GUID: 2458329A DCU ID: 19108281 CU ID: 22199053 Presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the 
 Degree of International Master in Security, Intelligence and Strategic Studies Word Count: 22 451 Supervisor: Donnacha Ó Beacháin Date of Submission: 31.07.2021 Abstract This research explores how the securitization of imaginary and exaggerated threats is used as a legitimation instrument in hegemonic authoritarian regimes. Approaching the task through the cases studies, this thesis will situate the securitization practice within the performance mechanism of authoritarian legitimation and apply it in two hegemonic autocratic regimes - Uzbekistan of Islam Karimov and Belarus of Alexander Lukashenko. This dissertation picks qualitative research design. Methodologically, discourse and content analysis will be used to test the theory that will be developed in this project. The arguments presented in the thesis draw upon the primary sources such as speeches, official statements, and memoirs. The dissertation will also refer to the secondary sources in order to synthesise arguments provided by the existing literature related to the issue in question. This research project...

The purpose of this study was to explore the securitization of communicable disease in the case of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa 2014. Applying the Copenhagen School’s theory of securitization, this thesis conducted a discourse analysis of speech acts occurring at different levels of the global community in relation to the outbreak. The focus lay on two major events, namely the UN Security Council meeting on 18 September 2014 and the UN high-level meeting on Ebola a week later. Investigating to what extent the securitizing discourse apparent in Resolution 2177 which identified Ebola as a “threat to international peace and security” was upheld and justified by the speakers at these events, this study determined that Ebola virus disease has been “successfully” securitized on all levels of global governance. Despite the incredible amount of human suffering which the Ebola outbreak provoked in West Africa, the discourse employed by global governance identified the referent object nearly exclusively at the state-level. Further research is suggested in the concluding parts of this thesis that can build upon the findings of this study.

In recent years climate change has been featured much more prominently in scholarly and public discourse. Especially since 2003 and 2007 the focus has shifted towards the security implications of climate change and the necessary measures to deal with climate change. The discourse commonly portrays climate change as a threat that substantially affects national and human security. Using frameworks of the Copenhagen School and Paris School, as well as discourse analysis, this thesis shows that climate change as a security issue is mainly understood in human security terms and seen to exacerbate already existing problems, such as poverty and food insecurity. The social and discursive construction of climate change as a security issue has influenced the policies and practices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as well as the United Nations Development Programme, as it has become a central element of their work. It is argued that the Paris School’s climatization framework has more analytical value for the security analysis of climate change than the Copenhagen School’s securitization theory.

<p>In the post-9/11 period, the United States can be seen to have securitized its approach to homeland security policy. Canada did not follow suit. Instead, the Canadian state sought to respond to American securitization initiatives in order to protect its own state interests. An in-depth examination of securitization theory demonstrates that this theoretical construct has been re-interpreted by scholars and adapted to various research agendas. This dissertation differentiates amongst three variants of securitization theory: philosophical, sociological, and post-structural. Common to these competing variants of securitization theory was the finding that the role of the audience had remained vague, hindering the use of this theoretical model for examining the policy creation process. Focusing on the philosophical variant of securitization theory, as originally articulated by the Copenhagen School, this dissertation re-evaluates the role of the audience while examining the ways in which the American approach to homeland security was securitized in the new security environment that emerged following 9/11, as well as Canada’s response to this securitization.</p> <p>This project divides the audience into two separate groups, made up of three components. The elite audience, which is comprised of members of the state policy elite, and the media first determine whether or not an issue poses an existential threat to the security of the state. The populist audience - the state’s public - then determines for itself whether or not it accepts the existential nature of the threat. This division of the audience into two separate groups allows for a clearer understanding of whether or not a given issue has been successfully securitized.</p> <p>In the post-9/11 period, the American audience groups willingly accepted that the threat of terrorism posed an existential threat to the state. The Canadian audience groups, prompted by their own authorized speakers of security, did not recognize terrorism as posing an existential threat to the Canadian states. Ultimately, an examination of the audience groups in these two states demonstrates the utility of the philosophical variant of securitization theory for evaluating states’ responses to security threats.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This thesis applies securitisation theory to the Israeli-Palestinian case with a particular focus on the potential for desecuritisation processes arising from Israeli-Palestinian cooperation/coexistence efforts in peace education and water management. It aims to apply securitisation theory in general and the under-employed concept of desecuritisation in particular, to explore the limits and prospects as a theoretical framework. Concepts, arguments and assumptions associated with the securitisation theory of the Copenhagen School are considered. In this regard, the thesis makes a contribution to Security Studies through its application of securitisation theory and sheds light on a complex conflict situation. Based on an analytical framework that integrates the concept of desecuritisation with the concepts of peace-building and peace-making, the thesis pays attention to desecuritisation moves involving Israeli and Palestinian civil societies through peace education and water management. The thesis contributes to debates over the problems and prospects of reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinians, so making a significant empirical and theoretical contribution in the development of the concept of desecuritisation as a framework for analysing conflict resolution. The thesis develops an analytical framework that combines political level peace-making with civil society actors' peace-building efforts. These are seen as potential processes of desecuritisation; indeed, for desecuritisation to occur. The thesis argues that a combination of moves at both the political and societal levels is required. By contrast to securitisation processes which are mainly initiated by political andlor military elites with the moral consent of society (or 'audience' in Copenhagen School terms), processes of desecuritisation, especially in cases of protracted conflicts, go beyond the level of elites to involve society in cultural and structural peace-building programmes. Israeli-Palestinian peace education and water management cases are employed to illustrate this argument.