For the Sake of ‘Peace and Security’?

Abstract

The need to achieve stability and security in Europe has been a core motivation for European Union actors in their decision in favour of enlargement, calling for new measures to advance the enlargement process. EU leaders have often justified changes to the existing enlargement strategy by making reference to threats to security in Europe and by claiming that eastern enlargement could be the way to attain peace and security in Europe. Never has EU enlargement been so frequently connected with security debates. The overall effect of security concerns on the enlargement process, however, has not been adequately analysed in previous studies of EU enlargement; enlargement policy has largely been explained from economic and commercial viewpoints. This article explores the role of security concerns in EU enlargement -'security' that does not necessarily come in the military form, but in what I refer to as a 'speech act', drawing on insights from the Copenhagen School of security studies. The article comprises (1) a conceptual framework to consider how 'security' as 'speech act' (or the 'securitization' approach) can explain the enlargement process, (2) three case studies of security influences in the context of EU enlargement, and (3) conclusions on when and how security has mattered in the EU enlargement process.

Securitization and Risk at the EU Border: The Origins of FRONTEX*

“…The approach has spawned a cottage industry of incisive critiques, which include questions about the 'audience' of such discursive moves (Balzacq, 2005;Higashino, 2004), the securitizing authority and capacity of the speakers (Williams, 2003), whether securitizing moves can take silent or non-verbal forms (Hansen, 2000), what conditions must be in place for securitizing moves to succeed or fail (Green Cowles et al, 2001), the difference between securitization and politicization (Huysmans, 1995) and the ethico-political assumptions and implications of the approach (Aradau, 2004).…”

Europa an der Oder

“…Balzacq (2005) setzt sich dafür ein, Sicherheit nicht als »speech act«, sondern als diskursive Technik zu verstehen, welche die Rolle des Publikums einbeziehe. Andere Autoren haben das Konzept der Securitization auf spezifische Kontexte angewandt, wie auf die EU-Erweiterung (Higashino 2004), den Migrationsdiskurs (Roe 2004), die kanadische Einwanderungspolitik (Ibrahim 2005), die Migration in die EU (Huysmans 2000) und die polnische Migrations-und Asylpolitik (Weinar 2006).…”

“…Nicht zu Unrecht kann die Osterweiterung dementsprechend als Securitizing Move bezeichnet werden (Higashino 2004), denn der Beitritt der osteuropäischen Staaten wurde als Mittel zum Selbstschutz präsentiert. Dies beruhte nicht zuletzt auf Erwägungen, nur eine gelungene Integration könne die Stabilität des Kontinents gewährleisten und das Erstarken neuer Nationalismen und damit ethnische Konflikte, wie auf dem Balkan, vermeiden.…”