The politics of studying securitization? The Copenhagen School in Turkey

Abstract

Copenhagen School securitization theory has made significant inroads into the study of security in Western Europe. In recent years, it has also begun to gain a presence elsewhere. This is somewhat unanticipated. Given the worldwide prevalence of mainstream approaches to security, the nature of peripheral international relations, and the Western European origins and focus of the theory, there is no obvious reason to expect securitization theory to have a significant presence outside Western Europe. Adopting a reflexive notion of theory allows, the article argues, inquiry into the politics of studying security, which in turn reveals how the Western European origins and focus of securitization theory may be a factor enhancing its potential for adoption by others depending on the historico-political context. Focusing on the case of Turkey, the article locates the security literature of that country in the context of debates on accession to the European Union and highlights how securitization theory is utilized by Turkey's authors as a 'Western European approach' to security.

The Limits of Securitization Theory: Observational Criticism and the Curious Absence of Israel

“…This tendency is not related to elements of the theory itself, but rather to the American identity of the scholars and experts who have aspired to influence the American policy. Likewise, the explanations Bilgin () provides for the relative prominence of securitization theory in the work of Turkish scholars can be traced to their motivation to “locate Turkey in Europe” rather than a problem in the theory itself.…”

“…For some examples, see Bilgin () (Turkey); Wilkinson () (Kyrgyzstan); Vuori () (China); Åtland and Ven Bruusgaard () (Russia); and Holbraad and Pedersen () (Cuba). For a useful review of additional studies that extend securitization scholarship beyond Western Europe, see Bilgin (:401).…”

The Queen’s speech: Desecuritizing the past, present and future of Anglo-Irish relations

“…A crucial idea embedded in both threads is that desecuritization oscillates between different modes of speaking and not speaking security, modalities which can take many different forms (cf. Bilgin 2007Bilgin , 2011Campana 2013;Hansen 2012;Jensen 2012;Jutila 2006;MacKenzie 2009). …”

"The war on crime": The securitization of narco-trafficking in Mexico during the Calderon administration.

“…Although there is a growing body of case studies (Wilkinson, 2005;Huysmans, 2006;Bilgin, 2011;Salter and Piche, 2011;Walby and Monaghan, 2011;McDonald, 2012), the literature remains dominated by works that discuss securitization theory as opposed to works that apply it. This is odd considering that the authors had envisioned the framework as an analytical tool to understand security.…”

“…This theory conceives security as constructed through the "speech act" and focuses on the process by which an issue is constructed as a threat. Much has been written about the theoretical and disciplinary aspects of securitization (McSweeney, 1996;Neumann, 1998;Huysmans, 1998;Bigo, 2002;Williams, 2003;Smith, 2005;Taureck, 2006;C.A.S.E Collective, 2006), but assessments about its validity in a real-life context remain secondary in the literature (Wilkinson, 2005;Huysmans, 2006;Bilgin, 2011;Salter and Piche, 2011;Walby and Monaghan, 2011;McDonald, 2012). By applying securitization theory to study narco-trafficking in Mexico, this thesis will contribute to the literature in two ways.…”