Framing the Threat

4 Security Discourse

One of the most important and powerful discourses that shapes our lives is that of security. Security has always been a priority-defining category, and, as will be argued in this chapter, it provides politicians with a strong rationale for the enforcement of exceptional policies and for breaking rules. In this respect, the concept of securitization51 developed by the Copenhagen School (CS) points to the impact of speech acts. It claims that threats come into being when issues and people are framed as such and that this paves the way for legitimizing emergency action that deviates from and violates established rules. This chapter begins by pointing to the emergence of a new conceptualization of security in order to present ...