Publication

This paper looks at the origins of the Copenhagen School's theory of securitization -- a school of thought that focuses on 1) the impact political communications have on how communities perceive their security status, and 2) the history of securitization itself. As the paper’s author first reminds us, the Copenhagen School perceived securitization as a process that was not necessarily directed by political elites. Instead, it was formed -- often unintentionally -- by the form or logic of security discourses themselves. The author then goes on to suggest that this view of the securitization process was very much formed and framed within a specific historical context. As a result, devotes of the Copenhagen School’s theory will have to update and adapt it in the future if they hope to preserve its explanatory power.