This thesis adds to the literature surrounding technification in securitizing cyberspace by examining the role of technical experts in constituting threats in cyberspace at the level of the state. Furthermore, this thesis considers the impact of technocratic framing on the public's understanding of cyberspace and the historical conditions under which this framing developed. / Master of Arts

The thesis proposes the analytical review on how the Baltic States, namely, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia perceive Russia as a threat to their national security by addressing and evaluating the main changes in their security policies. To analyze the changes and differences in their perception, the securitization theory is applied. Following the most recent changes in the security environment in Europe, starting from the Ukraine crisis and annexation of Crimea in 2014, supplementary theoretic concept such as security dilemma is used for better understanding of the challenges that the Baltic States/NATO - Russia relations face. The main goal of this thesis is to provide a detailed overview of how Russian interference in Ukraine's domestic affairs, created a sense of anxiety in the Eastern Europe and affected security sectors of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia. Keywords: the Baltic States, Russia, Ukraine Crisis, Securitization theory, Security Dilemma, NATO

The Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 was the start of the increasing tensions inthe Baltic sea. According to the Swedish government, the threats against the Nordic-Baltic countries have increased and this study will examine the Swedishgovernment’s security measures during the period of 2014 - 2020. Our methodselection is based on a qualitative text analysis. To review Sweden’s arrangements,we will analyse one proposition from a theoretical framework that is constituted ofthe Constructivism theory and the Securitization theory. The conclusion of the studyis that the Swedish government looks at the situation in the Baltic sea as amultidimensional security process. In order to protect the Swedish territory, thecountry must expand and strengthen both its national and international militarypower.

There are more refugees in the world than ever. There seems to be differences in reactions towards refugees depending on where they are fleeing from. The war in Ukraine shines a light on this issue. This study aims to increase knowledge of what contributes to the conceptions that sets the foundation for how refugees are represented. The questions answered are: How do Swedish political parties represent refugees in the beginning of the Ukraine refugee situation 2022 and the refugee situation in 2014 - 2016? How can differences over time and between political parties be understood through theories of othering, securitization and welfare chauvinism? This is answered through a text analysis using material from the three biggest Swedish parties from the two different time periods. A WPR-method is employed to analyze both different representations of refugees over time and how refugees are framed by different political parties. The results show that the parties express more solidarity towards Ukraine refugees and more distrust towards non-European refugees. There are clear signs of othering, securitization and welfare chauvinism especially from the Sweden Democrats but also from the Moderate Party while the Social Democrats tend to focus more on concepts of solidarity.

The state of Arizona became the main corridor for unauthorised migration into the United States in the early 2000s. A security approach to the issue at the state and local levels of policymaking became increasingly marked later in that decade. This escalation challenged the longstanding settlement in the United States that immigration was an exclusively federal matter, but occurred during a time when, by traditional measures, the unauthorised entry problem was easing. Such a development raises important questions about why security is chosen as a policy approach, highlighting the need to understand the securitization of immigration as a matter of political rationality. This thesis uses recent immigration politics in Arizona as a case study in order to examine why policymakers treat an issue like immigration as a security issue, when other interpretations are available. This thesis provides a detailed historical narrative of the evolution of migration and border-security politics at these levels of government in Arizona from 2004, when a broad political consensus began to emerge that there was a security problem on the international border which the state had to act to address, to 2011, when the then-years-long trend of securitizing immigration at the state level was abruptly halted. Taking an interpretivist approach to understanding policymaking, this thesis employs semi-structured elite interviews with state and local-level policymakers in Arizona, and extensive analysis of media and government documents. This research contributes originally to knowledge in two main ways. First, it furthers the migration politics field by advancing its understanding of the securitization of migration, and particularly the phenomenon of parties across the political spectrum coming to support security approaches towards, and restriction of, immigration. This thesis thoroughly explains the occurrence of this phenomenon in a major case, identifying the elite political logics, strategies, and understandings that were instrumental in the decisions that composed this process. Second, this thesis contributes to a developing security-studies literature that conceptualises securitization not as an “exceptional” form of politics, but as driven by “normal” political considerations. This research identifies how competitive democratic political logics produced phenomena usually ascribed by securitization theory to exceptionalism, including the narrowed field of contestation around security issues, and the adoption of policies that would previously have been considered extreme. It also examines how, in this case, securitization was successfully contested democratically. In this way, this thesis contributes toward the development of a concept of “security politics.”

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<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)

Since the Hamas attack, 7 of October 2023, instability in the Red Sea region has occurred. Due to this, the United States, along with other western countries has made a military intervention to targets in Yemen. But the question remains, how has it been possible for the US to carry out a military attack? This paper is aiming to study how the US has made this intervention possible by analyzing the securitization of the threat image from the Red Sea region. The study is going to analyze the ATA (Annual threat Assessment) material from the years 2006-2024, the report shows next year's US threat image. By the Securitization Theory the study is aiming to see how the threat image has been securitized. Combined with a discourse analysis as a method the study will investigate how the Red Sea region is expressed in the reports. This material, theory and method have not been studied before and therefore filled a gap in the previous research field.  The purpose is to contribute to a wider picture of the Securitization theory in the international arena. The analysis shows that ATA reports contain clear signs of securitization. The results show that the reports contained loaded words, an authority that was targeting an audience and macro securitization had occurred by mentioning the conflict in the Red Sea region as a proxy war. Due to these results one could draw the conclusion that Securitization had occurred in the report and therefore made possible for the military invasion.

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The diploma thesis titled Securitisation of Organized Violence in Europe: The Case of Great Britain and Italy deals with the analysis of security discourses in the United Kingdom during the conflict in Northern Ireland and Italy during the war with the Sicilian Mafia according to the securitization theory of the so-called Copenhagen School and their subsequent comparison. The main aim of this thesis is to capture the form of securitization processes in Italy in connection with the local organized crime. To reach this objective the situation in Italy is confronted with securitization processes in Northern Ireland whose conflict is a frequent subject of international relations and security studies. The theory of securitization as a research tool is presented in its original form formulated by the Copenhagen School and is supplemented by numerous criticisms by later securitization theorists. A significant part of the thesis is focused on a thorough analysis of historical and social context of the investigated phenomenon and on capturing of many securitization statements of political actors to which this work is primarily oriented. The discourse analysis is structured into five stages that reflect the most dramatic periods in development of the presented issue. These periods are characterized by the...