Politicising Security at the Boundaries: Privacy in Surveillance and Cybersecurity

Author(s): Myriam Dunn Cavelty, Matthias Leese
Journal Title: European Review of International Studies
Publisher(s): Barbara Budrich
Publication Year: 2019

This article looks into the politicization of security issues. In contrast to securitization, security issues that are politicized are those that are controversially debated in a public arena, without foregone conclusions as to how they are going to be handled. In order to locate and observe politicization processes empirically, it looks at privacy, a key notion and main tool for countering abstract and often absolute claims of security gains. By examining two issue areas (video surveillance and cybersecurity), the article highlights different tactics through which privacy is mobilized in order to politicize security. The text’s authors also show how the invocation of privacy offers an alternative viewpoint on security, one centered on the human.

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