The paper studies the theoretical and practical application of public relations to the geopolitical nature of international energy projects in order to expand our understanding of the energy sector's domination of the current political and social environments. More specifically, the paper analyses how energy companies that exhibit close links to the state are able to create and cultivate beliefs in the legitimacy of their exploitation of society's resources in pursuit of their country's national political interests. The focus of the paper is a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the competition for legitimacy between Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH and Gazprom's South Stream Pipeline. The paper analyzes the discursive competition between the two pipelines over existence in, and legitimate domination of, the European discursive space. It then compares constructed narratives to quantitative factors that shape the European energy market and technical and financial specifications of each pipeline on the basis of its ability to adequately meet European energy demands and enhance European energy security. The purpose of the paper is to demonstrate how Nabucco and South Stream have been able to overcome discursively their technical and financial shortcomings to become perceived as geopolitical tools in a...

This diploma thesis deals with the relationship between the security and media discourse. Securitization, a model originally developed by the Copenhagen school, is here understood as a long term process which depends not only on a one-time designation of a certain phenomenon as a security threat, but it is co-constructed by many factors and agents. The media represents the world; it both reflects and forms its picture Critical discourse analysis enables the examination of the construction of security threats in the particular texts plus it also involves contextual factors in which it expands and deepens the insight into the particular issue. This work attempts to show through which means and in what respects Islam is or is not represented as a security threat in a chosen part of Czech online news discourse. It especially emphasizes the role of news values, routines and dominant ideology in securitizing processes.

This thesis examines the migration management of the European Union from 2015 until 2019. The discursive approach towards securitisation of the Copenhagen School will be applied in order to examine the processes of security that underlie the European Union’s approach to migration. However, since the European Union’s discourse on migration does not fulfil the requirements of emergency language required by the Copenhagen School and often relies on the language of routinised migration management, the concept of risk as developed by Critical Risk Studies will be introduced in order to account for the perception of migration as an issue of security for the European Union. By conducting a discourse analysis of selected speeches by high ranking EU officials, this thesis will argue that European Union migration management since the refugee crisis in 2015 is defined by a normalisation of migration as a security issue in the official discourse. This discourse is constitutive of as well as constituted by routinised practices of security and risk management.

In 2015, Europe experienced the arrival of an unprecedented number of migrants and refugees. This sparked a crisis, as the European states struggled to cope with the influx. Moreover, tensions in the European Union arose due to the disproportionate burden faced by some states, therefore arguably leading to some countries securitising the issue. This thesis seeks to investigate how and to what degrees socio-political conditions and political leadership roles impacted the securitisation of the 2015 refugee crisis in Hungary and Sweden. The assessment of these questions was approached by this paper through the employment of a comparative study analysis and a qualitative content analysis of speeches held by the Hungarian and Swedish prime ministers. Additionally, this paper utilises a theoretical framework, based upon Finnemore and Sikkink’s social constructivism and the Copenhagen School’s securitisation theory. This paper argues that socio-political conditions and leadership roles, embodied by the prime ministers of Hungary and Sweden, significantly impacted the securitisation processes of the 2015 refugee crisis. Furthermore, political leadership roles are interconnected to socio-political conditions via the securitisation of political issues in the following way: socio-cultural aspects, paired with political interests, inform the political leaders that shape how and through which articulation securitisation occurs.

As a global phenomenon, the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has impacted the socio-economic and political life like no other event of the recent past. With over 600,000 fatalities in its member-states, an unprecedented economic recession and damage to the Single Market, the European Union has been hit unexpectedly hard by COVID-19. Through the lens of Securitisation, and more precisely, Collective Securitisation, this thesis has the purpose to examine how the EU and its institutions have responded to the threat that is the spread of SARS-CoV-2, asking ‘Has SARS-CoV-2 been successfully securitised in the European Union?’. By applying a qualitative content analysis to speeches of the European Commission published between January and May 2020 as well as to a European Parliament Plenary debate following the speech of Commission President von der Leyen on April 16th, 2020, the thesis establishes that securitising moves have taken place in the examined timeframe and that they have been accepted by the European Parliament. In accordance with the Copenhagen School framework of Securitisation and Sperling and Webber’s Collective Securitisation model, the thesis concludes that COVID-19 was therefore successfully securitised.

This thesis is about EU energy security in relation to Russia and its proposed Nord Stream 2 project. In this thesis the Copenhagen School theory on securitisation is applied with the help of a combination of content analysis and discourse analysis as methods, which will together with the theory become the framework of this study. While the focal point will fall on EU’s Parliament and how the project Nord Stream 2 is securitised within this EU structure, where the project itself will serve as an exhibitory example of the energy security relationship between EU and Russia. The main findings that are made in this thesis are that the securitising actors in the debate are the countries not the political parties and that Russia, not Nord Stream 2 is the true object of securitisation. In addition to that it was established that there is little unity amongst the EU member states, which is supported by the finding in previous academic studies that have been conducted within the field.

The Russian-Ukrainian relationship is inherently complex. Since the end of the Cold War, there have been several defining moments in this relationship, which have contributed to how Russia perceives any potential challenges to its security. Securitising discourse from Russian political leadership, namely the President, offers an insight into what aspects of this relationship are escalated so extensively that extreme courses of action may be deemed necessary (i.e., a full-scale invasion of Ukraine). Drawing on Buzan et al. (1998), this project identifies the key sectors that Russia politicises, and those that it securitises vis-à-vis Ukraine. In addition, this study highlights the key sub-themes within politicisation and securitisation that were found within these sectors. This is all within a timeframe where relations have moved from comparatively stable to a time of war (February 2019 – February 2023). There is some degree of overlap between the themes politicised and securitised, especially across the military, political, societal, and economic sectors of security. There were no cases of securitisation within the environmental sector. Overall, this study found a significant shift in Russia’s securitisation framing of Ukraine from mid-2021 onwards.

The thesis examines the extent to which the Tablighi Jamaat (TJ) as an Islamic, theocratic and social movement has negotiated and adapted to the British context, especially London in the post 7/7 period. TJ is the largest Islamic movement in the word and is characterised as an isolationist, disengaged, salvation oriented, apolitical organisation. The London branch of TJ has ambitions to construct a headquarter mosque in London – a project facing opposition across a spectrum of British society, and brandished as the “mega mosque”. As a means of ensuring the success of their project, London TJ leaders have embarked on a process of socio-political engagement aiming to demonstrate that the movement has changed its modes of operation, and trying to curtail allegations of radicalisation, after reports of terrorists passing through TJ mosques. Extensive observation research and interviews with TJ leaders, grassroots members and others involved in the on going contestation of the project, explain the adoption of the new strategy from the perspective of an elite and instrumentally aware leadership. In essence how the new strategy has been justified and re-framed, making it acceptable to a wider audience. The Public Inquiry over Enforcement Action of TJ’s mosque in Newham allowed for both TJ and opponents to highlight wider issues surrounding TJ and its stance towards engagement and commitment to community cohesion. Engagement may have initially been a tick-box exercise for London TJ leaders, but interacting with the wider community has had a transformative effect. TJ Leaders in London have emerged as a practical minded, demonstrating adaptability to local contexts, ensuring the survival of the movement. The durability of this, given the conservative and revivalist nature of the movement, will be a test of time.

Since the events of September 11, 2001, the threat of terrorism has gained ever more political salience, occupying a place at the top of the EU political agenda. In response to the perceived threat, the EU has developed a distinct approach to counter-terrorism, themed around what is called the "fight against terrorism‟. This approach is more than just a set of institutional or public policy responses designed to negate the threat of terrorism; it is also an influential political discourse which plays an important role in the construction of counter-terrorism policy and the legitimisation of counter-terrorism policy responses. This thesis uses critical discourse analysis to study the discursive construction of EU counter-terrorism policy. It uses representative extracts from twenty counter-terrorism documents prepared by/or for the EU institution the European Council, across a ten-year period from November 1999 to December 2009. The analysis identifies several strands of the "fight against terrorism‟ discourse, which it is argued are central to its constitution and that remain consistent across the period analysed. In the post-September 11 period, these strands of the counter-terrorism discourse play an important role in constructing an ubiquitous internal/external "terrorist‟ threat. These include: terrorism as a "criminal act‟; terrorism as an act perpetrated primarily by "non-state actors‟; terrorism as "new‟ and seeking to gain access to and/or use weapons of mass destruction; the threat of terrorism linked to an "open‟ or "globalised‟ geo-strategic environment, thus requiring measures of "control‟ at the EU border; and the threat of terrorism linked to "violent radicalisation‟ or "Islamist terrorism‟, emanating both internally ("home-grown terrorism‟) and externally to the EU. When these different strands are taken together they constitute the "fight against terrorism‟ discourse. It is argued that this discourse helps to construct the identity of the EU, whilst simultaneously the identity of the EU is central to the formulation of counter-terrorism policies. As such, the representations contained within the counter-terrorism discourse and counter-terrorism policy are considered to be mutually or co-constitutive. The main contention of the thesis therefore is that EU identity is constituted through the "fight against terrorism‟ discourse. Critical discourse analysis was chosen as a method through which to investigate EU counter-terrorism policy because it allows us to: map how the "fight against terrorism‟ discourse is constructed; to demonstrate how it provides a language for talking about terrorism; to understand how the discourse defines what is accepted knowledge about (who or what is) terrorism; and to reveal how that knowledge structures the counter-terrorism policy response as a "natural‟ or "common-sense‟ approach to the challenge of terrorism. This approach is novel in the sense that it is attentive to often neglected issues such as identity. In particular, it explores how the "fight against terrorism‟ discourse construct a "European‟ sense of Self in opposition to a "terrorist‟ Other. It investigates the extent to which the "fight against terrorism‟ discourse plays a role in the legitimisation of new security practices; as well as reflecting on the extent to which these practices are contributing to the blurring of the distinction between internal and external security policy. It also considers whether the discourse is reflective of a process of "securitisation‟ of social and political life within Europe.

The research problem of this dissertation is the use of securitization in a small open economy. During the process of securitization bank’s illiquid assets are replaced by liquid assets – asset-backed securities, what allows increasing and diversifying bank’s financial resources. Having in mind the relevance of the economic situation in Lithuania, the utility of securitisation for Lithuania is analyzed in this dissertation. Dissertation also analyses positive and negative aspects of the experience of other countries in using securitization. Research showed that there is a strong correlation between GDP and credit resources in Lithuania. This fact means that country's economic growth could be promoted by finding ways to supplement the financial resources available to the banks and by encouraging them to lend out these resources. Thus, the use of the funds received after issuing asset-backed securities for further lending by banks would have a direct positive impact on the level of GDP in Lithuania. In order to successfully develop asset securitization in the country Lithuanian banks should concentrate their resources and expertise. This would help to achieve the necessary economies of scale and acceptable transaction costs. Analysis showed that Lithuanian legal framework for securitization should be also improved considering best practices from other countries in order to create greater legal certainty, reduce the administrative burden and ensure investor protection. / Disertacijoje nagrinėjama mokslinė problema yra sekiuritizacijos panaudojimas mažoje atviroje ekonomikoje. Sekiuritizacijos metu nelikvidus turtas yra pakeičiamas likvidžiu turtu – turtu padengtais vertybiniais popieriais, kuris leidžia padidinti ir diversifikuoti bankų turimus kreditinius išteklius. Atsižvelgus į darbo aktualumą Lietuvos ekonominei situacijai, darbe vertinamas sekiuritizacijos panaudojimo Lietuvoje naudingumas, analizuojami sekiuritizacijos teigiami ir neigiami aspektai, kitų šalių patirtis ir praktika. Atliktas tyrimas parodė, kad Lietuvoje egzistuoja stiprus ryšys tarp BVP ir kreditinių išteklių, kas reiškia, kad suradus būdų kaip papildyti bankų turimus finansinius išteklius ir taip paskatinus juos skolinti, atitinkamai paspartėtų šalies ekonomikos atsigavimas bei tolesnis augimas. Tad bankams pritaikius sekiuritizaciją ir išleidus turtu padengtus vertybinius popierius, o gautas lėšas panaudojus tolesniam kreditavimui, tai turėtų tiesioginės teigiamos įtakos BVP dydžiui Lietuvoje. Siekiant sėkmingai vystyti sekiuritizaciją Lietuvoje bankams vertėtų kooperuotis sutelkiant savo išteklius bei kompetenciją, kas leistų pasiekti reikiamą masto ekonomiją ir priimtinus sekiuritizacijos sandorių kaštus. Taip pat reikėtų tobulinti Lietuvos teisinę bazę sekiuritizacijos srityje pasiremiant geriausia sekiuritizacijos reguliavimo praktika: kurti didesnį teisinį tikrumą, mažinti administracinę naštą ir užtikrinti investuotojų apsaugą.