Securitisation

"Securitisation" is a process-oriented conception of security in the context of international security policy. The securitisation concept is embedded in the social constructivism with Ole Waever and Barry Buzan as leading theorists (Copenhagen School): Security is not an objective state, but results from social processes; security is socially (and/or politically) constructed.

"Securitisation", or "de-securitisation", expresses which aspects of life are going to be – or not to be – transformed into and perceived as security-related matters in the future. For example corruption could be perceived as a prior economic issue, as a prior criminal justice issue, or as a prior security issue. A cross-cutting aspect is the cultural selection of risks and security culture.

Security related aspects

"Securitised" agenda examples, that are more or less tangent to urban planning, are:

• Environmental security;
• Terrorism;
• Data protection and data security;
• Cyber security;
• Societal security;
• Climate change;
• Migration;
• etc.

Related subjects

• Culture aspects
• Security culture
• Perception of (in)security/risks
• Vulnerability
• Resilience

Further reading

• Waever Ole (1998): Securitization and Desecuritization. In: Lipschutz Ronnie (ed.)(1998): On Security. New York: Columbia University Press. Retrieved from: http://library.northsouth.edu/Upload/On%20Security.pdf [last access: 2012-08-02].
• Buzan Barry, Waever Ole (2009): Macrosecuritization and security constellations: reconsidering scale in securitization theory. Review of international studies, 35 (2): 253-276.
• Stone Marianne (2009): Security According to Buzan: A Comprehensive Security Analysis. Sciences Po – Paris, France. Groupe d’Etudes et d’Expertise “Sécurité et Technologies” GEEST-2009. New York: Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs. SECURITY DISCUSSION PAPERS SERIES 1 Spring|09. Retrieved from: http://geest.msh-paris.fr/IMG/pdf/Security_for_Buzan.mp3.pdf [last access: 2012-08-02].
• Balzacq Thierry (2011): Securitization theory: how security problems emerge and dissolve. London: Routledge.
• Benam ÇiĞdem H. (2011): Emergence of a “Big Brother”in Europe: Border Control and Securitization of Migration. Insight Turkey Vol. 13, No. 3: pp. 191-207. Retrieved from: http://harvard.academia.edu/cigdembenam/Papers/776229/Emergence_of_a_Big_Brother_in_Europe_Border_Control_and_Securitization_of_Migration [last access: 2012-08-02].