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The concept of cognitive warfare is currently gaining ground in the policy discussion and in academic research as a way of conceptualizing the 'weaponization of the neurosciences'. Introducing the Science and Technology Studies-inspired concept of 'neuropolitical imaginaries' and assessing discussions on cognitive warfare launched by the NATO Innovation Hub in 2017, this article explores how the contemporary turn to the brain sciences in defense and security reimagines politics. The article argues that seeing the human mind as increasingly vulnerable to external interference redefines the nature of human agency by giving precedence to the skilful 'cartographer' employing neuroscientific techniques and methods for persuasion. This emerging vulnerability of the human mind reshapes security into a zero-sum game for 'cognitive superiority', making brain science scholars authorities in security. Finally, speaking to the literature on security expertise and science in security, the article argues that the envisaged arms race for cognitive superiority gives rise to a neurosecurity dilemma: as the neurosciences becomes entangled with security, neuroscientific practices simultaneously arise as a core vulnerability, making their work conditional upon compliance with security practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much existing research on climate, conflict, and security asks a relatively narrow question: how does climate change trigger or exacerbate violent conflict in ways that threaten stability within the current international system? Far less attention has been paid to how the properties of that system contribute to climate-related risks of violence, conflict, and instability. In this article, we identify three aspects of the structure and workings of what we refer to as the "international security order" that, in our view, must be brought much more centrally into future research: the multi-dimensional role of war and war preparation as drivers of the climate problem; the widespread use of violence to suppress climate activism; and the failure of climate-policy mechanisms to account for the conflict risk they may create or exacerbate (an effect sometimes referred to as "backdraft"). We argue that these three are not simply contextual factors for climate-related violence. Rather, they work through the climate variable to shape conflict risk. Models and conceptual frameworks that do not explore these and other such connections may be missing important causes and mechanisms of climate-linked insecurity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This study examines the challenges of social reintegration of men involved in the insurgency in the Southernmost provinces of Thailand. Social reintegration involves men taking up their family, economic, and cultural roles in their community. In Southern Thailand, the reintegration process is not adequately desecuritized as the notion of security held by the Thai Military and State clashes with the rights of former detainees accused of involvement in the armed conflict. The data was collected through multiple means, including interviews with 31 informants (comprising former detainees and their family members, authorities, and staff of non‐governmental organizations), alongside focus group discussions and a dialogue process. This study shows that social reintegration is complex to achieve when the State pursues a security‐centric approach that involves close monitoring and denial of rights of movement and work. The findings of this study illuminate the necessity for three paradigm shifts to improve the social reintegration of former detainees in Thailand's Southern Provinces. First, it urges a redefined threat perception, recognizing former detainees as citizens with rights rather than inherent security risks. Second, it advocates for a collaborative approach, integrating civilian oversight and local stakeholders to reduce tensions and build community trust. Finally, the study proposes adaptive securitization policies responsive to evolving conflict dynamics, allowing for gradual desecuritization as reintegration advances. Together, these shifts aim to balance security needs with effective reintegration, fostering sustainable peace and community resilience in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how the shifting security landscape following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is reconfiguring (anti)-LGBTQ politics in Eastern Europe. Drawing on securitization theory, we unravel the changing construction of LGBTQ rights as a security issue in Ukraine and Georgia. We posit that securitization of sexuality occurs at the intersection of processes taking place at multiple scales: nation-building, in its imbrication with militarized conflicts, and EU-Russia geopolitical competition. We argue that Russia’s war has led to diverging paths regarding anti-genderism and political homophobia in each country. In Ukraine, we identify a move towards desecuritization, through the incorporation of (some) sexual minorities into the struggle against Russian invasion. In Georgia, the ruling elites’ attempts to retain power in a complex geopolitical landscape have crystallized the securitization of LGBTQ people as a threat from which society has to be protected. The article suggests that a major security crisis can result in differential and ambiguous outcomes for (anti-)LGBTQ politics, both across geopolitical locations and within a single national space. Overall, it advances our understanding of how anti-genderism and political homophobia connect with geopolitical dynamics in Eastern Europe and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how the European Union (EU) has discursively framed the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) since 2003 and explores frames and frame alignment over time. The study argues that the EU embeds the ENP with relatively fixed frame-issues and unstable framings that get aligned when the Union feels urged to respond to external/internal dynamics and deepen engagement with partner countries’ political elites to tackle external challenges/threats. The study argues that the EU has consistently utilized the security frame as the main pillar in crafting the ENP discourse. Even though the ENP incorporates a variety of priority spheres – policy frame areas – for cooperation between the EU and the ‘neighbours’ within the ENP, security frame issues top the EU-led priority list in the neighborhood. Accordingly, the study argues that the neighbors and the neighborhood are conceived in terms of security. Furthermore, it claims that the EU-led frames are interlinked with each other mainly through the security frame. Security policy-frame infiltrates majority of the ENP-driven policy issues, which explains its elevated frequency across the ENP documents. To explain the process the research introduces the concept of frame alignment to explain the changes in EU-driven framings, linking discursive instability with internal and external environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

British Muslim volunteers in Syria have been variously cast as humanitarians, activists, and—under the suspicious gaze of the war on terror—disguised militants. Yet many volunteers frame their efforts as attempts at iṣlāḥ (reform, repair, rectification). What is the ethicopolitical life of iṣlāḥ, a multivalent concept in the Islamic tradition, in a landscape marked by war and international relief efforts? Considered ethnographically, iṣlāḥ organizes heterogeneous practices, including charitable giving, political defiance, and ethical contestation. It is thus irreducible to either (religious) charity or to its oft‐purported opposite, (political) solidarity. Further, it reveals the embedded secularity of such oppositions, which shapes the reasoning of both the British security state and social scientific commentary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of securitization has an influence on citizenship policies since it enables them to regulate, control and separate secure identities from unsecure identities while also exploiting intercommunity dynamics, straining connections, resulting in exclusions. The thesis that securitization and citizenship are inextricably linked, following different logic at the national and provincial level but tied with the thread of securitization and identity management, is supported by a detailed examination of citizenship policies and legislation implemented after India's independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a tension in the policy and practice of refugee presence in and around the offices of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The core principle of direct accessibility to UNHCR is continuously balanced against other competing concerns. But what, in policy and practice, are these competing concerns? And at what point does the presence of refugees and other protection seekers become illegitimate from the perspective of UNHCR? Building on original empirical research, this article explores collective action by Sudanese protection seekers at UNHCR's office in Beirut, Lebanon. It shows how the spatial practices of UNHCR influence its relationship with protection seekers, and how these relations intersect with broader dynamics of securitization. In Beirut, once a presence was considered to 'disturb the work of the Office', a more restrictive policy involving host state security was triggered. The article interrogates what it means to 'disturb the work of the Office' in the context of a heavily securitized city and spotlights the blocking of UNHCR entrance doors in Beirut as a pivotal example of when collective action is considered by UNHCR to be so disturbing that protection seekers are to be forcibly removed from UNHCR 'territory'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1990s, securitised subprime loans supported the growth of mortgage lending. We study the evolution of initial mortgage rates as a function of loan and borrower characteristics during 1992–2015. We compare the evolution of initial rates on securitised subprime mortgages with rates of prime privately securitised mortgages, mortgages securitised by government‐sponsored enterprises, and nonsecuritised mortgages. Starting in 2003 the risk premium on subprime loans decreases until it disappears at the onset of the Global Financial Crisis. We find that loading factors on subprime rates are cointegrated with delinquencies and house price movements, providing evidence of the important role of the subprime market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many nation-states adopted militarized measures for rapid containment. China notably implemented extreme and enduring war-like procedures. This study aims to explore the implications of securitizing the pandemic through a feminist lens and suggest ethical and equitable strategies for understanding emergencies and coping with future crises. Employing discourse-based online ethnography, it analyzes social dynamics in China’s “pandemic war,” examining how gender and (in)security are co-constructed and the role of feminist activism within an authoritarian context. This article argues that framing the pandemic as war reinforces a masculinist stance of dominance, prioritizing state stability over human rights and security. State-centric securitization perpetuates state authority, gendered social hierarchies, and structural violence. The exclusionary nature of this approach created new avenues for feminist activism, both online and offline, advocating for marginalized groups, raising social and gender awareness, challenging state narratives, and fostering collective resistance. Drawing lessons from Chinese feminist initiatives during COVID-19, this study calls for alternative crisis responses focused on care, equity, ethics, and collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last three decades, the phenomenon of violent extremism, primarily religious and ethno-nationalist extremism, has emerged as one of the biggest security challenges for Pakistan. With continuous technological innovations and advancements, the nature of violent extremism is constantly evolving, and now more than ever, it is threatening Pakistan’s social fabric, causing domestic disharmony and leading to unrest and terrorism. More importantly, it adversely affects the state’s foreign relations. This study aims to comprehensively examine the complex interplay of factors contributing to violent extremism in Pakistan. By investigating both the root causes and the ensuing effects through the Securitization paradigm’s lens, this research seeks to develop effective policy strategies to combat this growing threat. The securitization paradigm is crucial for understanding how extremist ideologies are constructed as existential threats, shaping societal responses and informing counter-extremism measures. The paper follows a mixed approach based on descriptive and critical analytical qualitative research methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that the securitization of the Kurds and other opposition groups along with an anti-Western discourse has become a useful political strategy for the governing Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) in Turkey. The party used these security framings to put the opposition on the defensive by equating Turkey’s survival with the maintenance of AKP’s rule. This securitization of domestic politics has also shaped the content of the category of ‘enemy’ in foreign policy with particular repercussions for Turkey’s policy towards Syria. Drawing on a discourse analysis of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Twitter posts between May 2013 and May 2023, and declarations made by prominent AKP government figures, this article reveals that the government has used securitization as a strategic tool to reinforce populist dualities. The article also shows that vague and situational conceptualizations in securitization processes provide useful channels through which the government shapes and legitimizes its foreign policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines the interconnections between crisis, war and undocumented migration focusing on the crisis at Evros borderzone, Northeastern Greece, in February/March 2020. It puts forward an analysis of public discourse that posits Greece as “a nation under threat” and reflects on the notion of crisis both as a dimension of the present historical moment and a governmental device for strengthening state power. The paper suggests that crisis and war be understood as parts of a security continuum and that the Evros crisis of 2020 rendered visible the mutual constitution of the processes of illegalization and securitization of migration. Formulated as an open threat for Greece and Europe, undocumented mobility feeds into the (in)security spiral promoting more surveillance, tighter border control and deepening the social hierarchy that positions illegal(ized) migrants at the lowest social strata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This provocation paper critically examines the discrepancy between policy rhetoric and implementation in the New Pact on Migration and Asylum, which was approved by the European Commission in April 2024. Despite its portrayal as a ‘fresh start’, the pact displays continuity with past security-focused measures. On the humanitarian side, the New Pact appears to be less effective: while it includes provisions for legal pathways and solidarity mechanisms, it inadequately addresses the rights of migrants awaiting asylum decisions. These shortcomings serve to illustrate the persisting internal conflicts within the EU regarding migration policies and values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses housing securitization in Brazil during 2007–2020 and provides three contributions to debates on the relations between the state and financialization in emerging markets. First, we highlight that the Brazilian state has gone far beyond the common role of market enabling, characterized by regulatory rollout and fiscal incentives. Instead, by acting as a market maker on the demand and supply side, it has provided the required liquidity and depth for the emerging segment of residential securitization. Unlike the financial disintermediation through private market makers such as brokerage houses and individual traders that provide risk-reduction, Brazilian securitization has unfolded through the issuance and acquisition of securities by the state's housing bank and its associated social housing fund. Second, unlike the speculative Minsky type of booms and busts that characterize privately-driven markets, state market making generates a trajectory that is associated with the capacity of governments to roll-out markets for residential securitization. While the social-developmental stance of the Lula and Dilma administrations have boosted securitization, the market-oriented austerity politics of the Temer and Bolsonaro administrations have quickly dried up secondary markets. Finally, while securitization was initially a means to the end of social housing, it seems increasingly the other way around. More specifically, considering that thick and consolidated secondary markets ultimately depend on the quality and stability of the underlying loans and income streams that originate operations, stricter risk reduction and guarantees clauses have gradually penetrated the social housing segment and threaten to undermine the right to secure tenure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the broader context of securitized responses to Covid-19 globally, Uganda experienced an oversized military role, ranging from law-and-order and lockdown enforcement, to managing food-relief supplies, medical operations, and partisan political repression. What explains this excessive militarization? To address this poser, the article draws on secondary sources and key-informant interviews to test the hypothesis that military involvement in pandemic responses depends on pre-pandemic militarism. The findings reveal direct links between pre-crisis militarism and Covid-19 responses, contrary to the view that exceptionality and novelty of Covid-19 informed overly militarized responses. Through pandemic framing and institutional morphing, pre-pandemic militarism foregrounded military roles because Covid-19 provided Uganda's ruling elites with a public health pretext to heighten militaristic rule, clutch the political arena in the context of elections, and deepen military presence in civilian public health realms. This excessive militarization of public health seriously impacts civil–military relations, specifically command and control, reporting and accountability, and resources management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Since COVID-19, the European Commission (EC) has sought to expand its activities in health through the development of a European Health Union and within it the Health Emergencies Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA). Methods: The authors applied a discourse analysis to documents establishing HERA to investigate how the EC legitimated the creation of this institution. They focused on how it framed health emergencies, how it framed the added value of HERA, and how it linked HERA to existing EU activities and priorities. Findings: Their analysis demonstrates that security-based logics have been central to the EC's legitimation of HERA in alignment with a "securitization of health" occurring worldwide in recent decades. This legitimation can be understood as part of the EC's effort to promote future integration in health in the absence of new competences. Conclusions: Securitization has helped the EC raise its profile in health politically without additional competences, thereby laying the groundwork for potential future integration. Looking at the discursive legitimation of HERA sheds light not only on whether the EC is expanding its health powers but also how it strategizes to do so. HERA, while constrained, allows the EC to further deepen security-driven integration in health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista UNISCI is the property of Unidad de Investigaciones Sobre Seguridad y Cooperacion International (UNISCI) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Based on recent neuroscience findings, we consider the brain to be a Bayesian prediction engine operating under a resource constraint. It meets incoming information with predictions based on an internal model of the world. Finite brain resources are then spent on processing the gaps between incoming information and these predictions. In addition, adverse information may trigger a stress response, exacting a cost on the brain and the body. We argue that the brain, which ultimately is the seat of all decision-making, considers these costs while choosing among alternatives. We show that incorporating such costs enriches our understanding of the financial market behavior by providing a new approach to recent financial innovations, as well as pushing up the equity premium and making it countercyclical. Ignoring such costs may make certain and uncertain utility appear different from each other consistent with recent empirical findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Three Seas Initiative (3SI) is a relatively new format of regional cooperation in Central Europe. The main objective of 3SI activities is the development of energy, transport and digital infrastructure in the region. Following the outbreak of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war in February 2014, the security dimension of 3SI activities has become more important. The last 3SI Summit was held in Vilnius in April 2024. The aim of this article is primarily to analyse the military dimension of the Three Seas Initiative's activities after the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022. The text presents the military potential of the 3SI countries and the diversified approach of the member states to the Russian-Ukrainian war. It also analyses the Lithuanian 3SI perspective, the decisions of the Vilnius Summit and the prospects for 3SI military cooperation. Due to the relatively new nature of the research topic, the analysis focuses primarily on recently published specialist texts.

The study examines whether consolidating qualified special-purpose entities (QSPEs) under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards Nos. 166 and 167 (FAS 166/167) improves the market reaction to earnings disclosures. We use a difference-in-difference design to compare the change sample, which is defined as banks that consolidate QSPEs after FAS 166/167, with the no-effect sample, which is defined as financial institutions with no QSPEs or banks that do not consolidate QSPEs after FAS 166/167. The results show that, during a short window around earnings announcements, the change sample experiences higher market reaction to earnings surprises than the no-effect sample after the implementation of FAS 166/167. We also find that the effect is more pronounced in banks that engage in securitization and in financial institutions whose securitized loans originate primarily from consumer loans rather than mortgages. Additional analysis also finds that adopting FAS 166/167 enhances the ability of earnings to predict future earnings and future cash flows in banks. The important implication of the study for regulators is that FAS 166/167 improves bank transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of the topic is due to the increasing influence of Specialized Financial Companies in connection with the constant development of the investment market and the increasing need of society in innovative products, taking into account the lack of research in the Russian science and expert community. It should also be noted that Specialized Financial Societies are becoming an increasingly interesting instrument both abroad and in Russian corporate law, especially in view of the forthcoming “tax reform” in 2025. The purpose of the study is to summarize the opinions of the expert-scientific community and dive into the legislation and law enforcement practice of foreign jurisdictions in order to identify positive aspects of regulation, gaps in the current Russian legislation and problems in legal regulation. Materials and methods. The research was based on the following methods: factual method, in the form of analysis of the current legislation of Russia; comparative-legal method, allowing to evaluate the institution of Specialised Financial Companies from the point of view of approaches applied in various foreign jurisdictions; method of analysis and generalisation of materials in official Internet resources. The result of the study is the identification of shortcomings in legal regulation, systematization of distinctive features of Specialized Financial Companies, identification of their advantages over other corporations, analysis of examples of the use of Specialized Financial Companies (SPV) in foreign countries, determination of their role and functions in the economy.

Climate change, a global phenomenon driven by human activities like fossil fuel combustion and deforestation, is leading to drastic shifts in weather patterns and increasing the frequency of extreme events. These changes adversely affect ecosystems, economies, and societies by disrupting agriculture, threatening water supplies, and prompting migration, thus heightening social and political tensions. Initially focused on mitigation, the international response to climate change, since the Paris Agreement, has shifted towards adaptation strategies. This article discusses the transition from mitigation to adaptation, emphasizing climate resilience’s role in national security. The paper argues that while adaptation addresses the immediate impacts of climate change and offers tangible benefits, especially in developing nations, it has also led to the securitization of climate issues, justifying exceptional measures under the guise of national security. This situation underscores the urgent need for comprehensive global strategies that balance immediate actions with long-term sustainability.

By the early 2020s, the NATO representatives have adopted an increasingly alarmist rhetoric regarding China’s strengthening positions in the international relations. In 2022, the PRC was officially qualified as a ‘systemic challenge’ to the countries of the alliance. These attempts to securitize the Chinese factor in the NATO’s discourse are particularly noteworthy since they can hardly be rationalized by traditional military-political, economic or ideological reasons. The author argues that these reasons stem from the NATO’s search for a new, global identity. In order to test this hypothesis, the article traces the evolution of the alliance’s collective self-representations from the Cold War period up to the present day. The author shows that during the Cold War, when NATO positioned itself as a military-political alliance aimed at deterring the ‘Soviet threat’, the alliance’s relations with China developed steadily and constructively despite political and ideological differences. In the post-bipolar period, the Chinese factor has lost its importance even more, as NATO was actively considering the idea of repositioning itself as a ‘security community’. Attention to the PRC in the NATO discourse increased significantly in the 2010s, when the alliance set a course towards a radical expansion of its mandate in international relations and self-representation as a global security actor. However, as the author emphasizes, during this period there still have been no attempts to securitize China, and relations between the PRC and NATO were marked by positive dynamics. The shift in the perception of the PRC in the NATO’s official discourse took place in the second half of the 2010s — early 2020s and stemmed from the apparent difficulties in asserting the global identity of the alliance and the growing great-power rivalry in the international arena. From this perspective, increasing efforts to securitize the PRC could be ascribed to the continuous evolution of the alliance’s collective identity and the desire of its leaders to close ranks in the face of new strategic challenges. However, the author shows that the deterioration of relations between NATO member states and Russia, a traditional ‘significant other’ for the alliance, renders meaningless any further attempts to securitize China, which continue still more by inertia.

The United States has emerged as a prominent actor in the international fight against transnational terrorism in the Sahel region of Africa since 2002, exerting significant political influence on regional affairs. Under the leadership of the United States, a coalition of Sahel countries has collaboratively established security programs, notably including the Trans-Saharan Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP). However, the U.S. counterterrorism strategy in the Sahel region has not only proven ineffective in containing the deterioration of regional security, but also has exacerbated the vulnerability to coups in recipient countries. The observed deterioration can be attributed to various driving factors, such as deviations in the willingness and ability to involve and the security traffic jam. We contend that the U.S.-Sahel counterterrorism partnership is fundamentally misaligned and plagued by a securitization problem. Firstly, a significant impediment to international cooperation lies in the United States' pursuit of consolidating its dominant role in Sahel security affairs, which usually overlooks the pragmatic principle of 'African solutions to African problems'. In the counterterrorism process, there is a misalignment between U.S. national interests and those of Sahel states. Furthermore, the United States' extensive reliance on military strategies indicates a significant securitization of non-violent civil affairs in certain Sahel states, inadvertently creating an opportunity for genuine terrorist organizations to recruit members. In addition, U.S. interference in the internal affairs of Sahel states heightens the risk of coups, thereby undermining the legitimacy of U.S. leadership in the region. Currently, with both the withdrawal of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and France withdrawing their security forces from the Sahel region, there has a significant weakening effect on regional security capabilities. Therefore, it is imperative for the international community to collaborate with African nations and adopt more proactive measures to safeguard regional security and maintain order. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines how the Biden administration sought to legitimate the wide-ranging chip export controls on China (introduced on 7 October 2022) and to convince allies to adopt similar measures. Grounded in a qualitative analysis of US official documents, this study not only draws out the overarching rationale advanced by US officials: China's unregulated access to advanced chips constitutes a major threat to the US and allied security. More importantly, leveraging insights from frame alignment, it uncovers the underlying patterns and dynamics of the legitimation-cum-securitization process. Substantively, US officials insisted on viewing US technological leadership and the escalation of export controls through the security lens, associated China's (mis)use of advanced chips with the erosion of US technological supremacy, military security and national security at large, and framed blocking China's access to advanced chips as critical for the security of the US and allies. This analysis offers broad insights into the contestation and legitimation of an increasingly common yet potentially pernicious phenomenon in US-China relations: enacting techno-economic sanctions in the name of national security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the intricate mechanisms by which states employ a complex network of competing and intersecting borders—both real and imagined—to delineate and perpetuate the image of Syrian refugees as security risks. Drawing upon insights from border studies, securitization theory, and framing analysis, we explore the nuanced processes of mental mapping and bordering within the context of the Syrian crisis. By scrutinizing the construction of these borders and mental maps, we highlight the deliberate state‐driven narrative that portrays Syrians as threats, emphasizing that such perceptions are not inherent but rather intentionally crafted. Our investigation sheds light on the state's agency in framing Syrians as threats, a narrative rarely challenged despite the multifaceted nature of the refugee crisis. Through an expanded discussion on historical, geopolitical, and socio‐cultural dimensions, we aim to provide a comprehensive understanding of the intricate dynamics underlying the portrayal of Syrian refugees as perennial security concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 ruptured Europe's security constellation, leading to historically neutral Finland and Sweden to seek NATO memberships. While there is literature on how NATO influences country's security apparatus, the impact of NATO on smaller states' securitization capacity remains unclear. We undertake 1) a discourse analysis of Norway and Finland's three respective Arctic strategies, 2) a discourse analysis of two online Arctic newspapers 'High North News' and 'The Barents Observer', and 3) an analysis of the allocation of Finnish and Norwegian military spending from 2014-2022. We explore both countries as cases where one is a historic member of NATO and the other is not. Despite this, both states share similar structural security risks such as Russia's geographic proximity. We periodize securitizing dynamics related to the Arctic, matching it to changes in the Finnish and Norwegian military sectors. Given small states lack relative material capabilities, we argue there is a systematic deadlock in transforming securitizing moves into material action. However, as a NATO state, Norway exhibits a significantly higher level of participation in military maneuvers and additional securitizing behavior compared to Finland. By contrast, Finland relies more heavily on intense securitizing rhetoric without accompanying material actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of URVIO - Revista Latinoamericana de Seguridad Ciudadana is the property of FLACSO - Ecuador (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The global health regime is caught in a paradox, whereby connecting "human" to "(inter)national" security to prevent the spread of infectious diseases unwittingly introduces into this complex and expertise-reliant domain of "low politics" the notion of "sovereign decisionism"—states' prerogative to identify a threat and counter it with exceptional measures that may in turn constrain their ability to unilaterally securitize disease. This article introduces an analytical framework presenting three pathways through which state leaders with different conceptions of sovereignty and varying constraints on their legitimacy among their domestic audiences may nevertheless securitize policy domains traditionally considered as falling within the scope of sub-state "low politics." Two of the pathways begin with scientific objectivation rather than politicization, and one trades power concentration for collaboration with sub-state and global authorities. I then compare the Canadian and American responses during the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic to uncover how these contextual factors disposed Donald Trump to politicize COVID-19, while Justin Trudeau emulated the World Health Organization's securitization of the virus without centralizing state powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the strategic deployment of religion by the Egyptian military regime as a legitimizing tool for the 2013 military coup and ensuing rule. Central to the analysis is the role of the Egyptian Dar al-Ifta, a pivotal state religious institution, in securitizing the Muslim Brotherhood and its affiliates. While multiple frameworks exist to dissect regime preservation tactics, the research harnesses securitization theory to illuminate these strategies. Grounding the arguments in the foundational works of Juha Vuori in nondemocratic contexts, it contends that the Egyptian military regime tactically utilized religious institutions to securitize its adversaries and enriches the extant literature by integrating securitization principles within the Egyptian context and emphasizes underexplored narratives from the Global South. Moreover, it seeks to bridge a research gap on the nexus between religious institutions and individual actors and delves into the intricate interplay between religious and political discourses by examining speeches and statements infused with religious rhetoric for legitimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article critically assesses the European securitization industry's claim of the existence of an uneven regulatory playing field for securitization structures vis-à-vis financial instruments deemed 'neighbouring' to securitization by the industry, like whole loan pools, corporate bonds, and covered bonds. According to market participants, the adverse regulatory treatment of securitization is negatively affecting the European securitization market, by pushing issuers and investors towards other financial instruments that are treated preferentially. Ultimately, this prevents the securitization market from escaping the subdued state in which it has been ever since the global financial crisis. To address this problem, market participants are advocating a fundamental recalibration of the existing regulatory framework. By examining the regulatory framework that applies to securitization structures, against the backdrop of regulation for whole loan pools, corporate bonds, and covered bonds, this article confirms that securitization structures are indeed treated adversely, as claimed by the industry. Nevertheless, a valid comparison can only be drawn between 'true sale' residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) structures and mortgage covered bonds, given the structural-economic similarities between the two financial instruments. In that regard, the adverse regulatory treatment of RMBS is found to be negatively impacting the European securitization market, by fuelling a 'crowding out' of RMBS by covered bonds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the narratives of the European Council, European Commission, and European Parliament regarding the European refugee crisis. Although the relevant scholarly research suggests that the EU Institutions held different perspectives about the refugee crisis, this paper argues that there was no such a clash of perspectives. This paper builds on the Copenhagen School's securitization framework as complemented with subsequent methodological tools to support the author's arguments. The findings suggest that despite the similarity in the views held by the main EU Institutions considering the refugees' influx, there was a variation in the intensity of their securitizing narratives. Theoretically, this study develops an understanding of the importance of the securitization narratives' intensity. Methodologically, this study introduces the Securitization Narratives Continuum, a research tool that facilitates the assessment of securitization. Empirically, this is the first study to interview and take into account the opinions of the securitizing actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I investigate the impact of securitization on the risk-taking by bank holding companies (BHCs). For 2001 to 2017, I find a negative relationship between securitization and the risk appetite of BHCs. I find a negative relationship between securitization and the risk appetite of BHCs that is consistent with the recourse hypothesis of securitization. I also discover that the equilibrium in this relationship changes from the pre-crisis to the crisis period (crisis effect). This crisis effect hampers BHCs' ability to engage in securitization that leads them to accumulate more risky assets on their books due to the deteriorated quality of their loan portfolios. This equilibrium then reverses after the crisis (post-crisis effect) due to policy makers' response to the excessive risk-taking that manifested during the crisis. Moreover, I find that the securitization of residential mortgages not only boosts the recourse hypothesis but also triggers the crisis effect. My findings provide novel empirical insights into the different nexuses between the securitization and risk appetite of BHCs around the financial crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decades, Turkey has expanded its digital capabilities in various issue areas. At the same time, regime change under the Justice and Development Party has resulted in unprecedented state repression against various groups, which increasingly occurs via digitized channels. While Turkey has been building digital capabilities since the late 1990s, efforts to control the flow of refugees since 2015/16 have further resulted in the accumulation of such capabilities. Turkey's partners, most notably the EU, have been pivotal in Turkey's development in this sphere. We trace Turkey's deployment of its newly gained digital repressive infrastructure and triangulate insights from open-source data (i.e. government data, newspaper reports, and other digital traces) to map processes of (mis)use. We argue that the AKP regime is not only deploying digital and AI technologies for the purpose of border and migration governance, but it is also misusing these technologies by engaging in digital repression against refugees. We further find that digital repression strategies employed against refugee populations largely overlap with strategies used to gain control over political opposition and civil society actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a macroeconomic model of interaction between the real sector and the financial sector, and explores the conditions that make the economy vulnerable to sudden collapse as a result of finance-led growth. It extends the Kaleckian framework of the link between profit and investment in a modern financialized economy with some specific features of shadow banking and articulates the underlying dynamics that render the economy systemically fragile and vulnerable to abrupt crashes. We elaborate on this link through a stock-flow consistent accounting framework and study the dynamics through two interacting forces of the shadow banking sector: profit-seeking and liquidity preference. The article formally articulates the dynamics through the framework of 'cusp catastrophe' and identifies some early warning signs of potential financial collapse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport mega-events (SMEs) remake cities as global brandscapes of leisured consumption; reliant in part upon securitization designed to create an atmosphere free from disturbance and render invisible those "abject" populations who might puncture the tourist bubble that surrounds stadia and fan-zones. Yet, such "shiny" cityspaces are not devoid of complexity, contestation, and compunction. In this paper, we draw on extensive ethnographic- and community-based participatory research in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (prior to, during, and after two SMEs) collected in collaboration with sex workers, working in areas of SME intervention. Our focus is on the contingent nature of securitization amidst the contested terrains and trajectories of SME urbanism. Our analysis resonates with observations from other host cities, challenging dominant myths that the sport mega-event creates impermeable securitized cityscapes by revealing the fluid topography of formality and informality, contestation and negotiation, and oppression and power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, militaries have been highly visible elements in the response to health emergencies and in particular disease outbreaks. Although there has been a long tradition of civil–military collaboration in health, COVID–19 saw an unprecedented worldwide use of militaries which occurred within a permissive environment established by narratives of global health, humanitarian intervention and multi-sectorality. This creates a dilemma: militaries will likely be an important element in responding to a major health emergency and this risks not only militarizing health emergencies, but affects the balance between society and the military more generally. Moreover, the response to the COVID pandemic suggested that current emergency planning is often poorly prepared for the use of militaries in health crises, thereby reducing the effectiveness of a response. This article engages with how concerns over the securitization of health have evolved into concerns over militarization, and the question of how militaries might be used effectively in future health emergencies without risking the militarization of health or damaging civil–military relations more widely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The special issue on Scripts of Security proposes to advance interdisciplinary exchanges between Science and Technology Studies and Critical Security Studies. While performativity, enactment, and intra-action have opened important questions about the messiness of security practices and the contingency of their effects, there has been less attention to the obduracy of institutionalized agency and how continuities and asymmetries of power are reproduced, challenged, and maintained. This Special Issue proposes to revisit and rework the notion of script and the related analytical toolkit to make sense of both contingency and obduracy in the technopolitics of security. The contributions gathered here make three interventions in order to account for contemporary challenges posed by the increasing securitization of diverse sociotechnical practices. Firstly, they update, integrate, and reconfigure the notion of script and its associated toolbox to account for the specificities of security practices. Secondly, the articles revisit critical analyses of security in light of the notion of script. Finally, they show how such an updated notion of script can hold together accounts of contingency and obduracy and not jettison one at the expense of the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of bilig: Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World is the property of bilig: Journal of Social Sciences of the Turkish World and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Russia's annexation of Crimea and war on Ukraine has led to upheaval in NATO's discourse and practice. Taking a step back from the security debate, this article contends that the very process of responding to Russian aggression has led to the reimagining of NATO's identity. While NATO tends to present change as continuity, this article's mixed methods analysis illuminates how a trio of new and ambitious self-representations have risen to prominence within NATO's post-Crimea discourse. NATO has anointed itself defender of the international rules-basedorder and purveyor of truth and facts amidst a world of disinformation, while pushing a resilience policy agenda that expands its authority into new domestic domains. Problematizing these shifts, the article warns that NATO's new narrative ignores its own role in the problems it seeks to solve and thus risks undermining NATO efforts to rally global support for Ukraine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we offer a conjunctural analysis of policing and incarceration, examining their expansion in relation to structural economic conditions over the last 50 years and interrogating how the sudden onset of the Covid-19 pandemic enabled extraordinary growth in policing powers in the Australian jurisdictions of New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria (VIC). We examine how popular support for police-led responses to crisis and fines as a common-sense solution to social problems were sought during the period that the Public Health Orders were in effect in the two states. We argue that the discursive project of naturalizing the police-led response to the pandemic—via official communications from the state governments as well as media coverage of the pandemic—attempts to further entrench a vision of law and order governance in which infrastructures of discipline and punishment are necessary and inevitable. We identify this vision as a direct barrier to abolition and a significant limit on the capacity to imagine alternative frameworks for justice. We end by considering a small archive of tweets from users in NSW and VIC published on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter (now called X) in 2020–21. We argue that this archive registers the way the common-sense status of the fine as an efficient, effective, and equitable punishment gives way to punitive fantasies about police and prisons. We read this archive alongside the broad refusal to pay Covid-related fines and the ongoing legal disputes contesting the legitimacy of their issuance, concluding by proposing that the conjunctural moment of the Covid-19 pandemic has given rise to unresolved contradictions between the naturalized logic of law and order crisis management and the potential for this logic to come undone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractIn international relations, the concept of ‘threat perception’ is the key focus in research on war, deterrence, coercion, alliances and conflict. Although detecting and measuring the concept of threat is challenging, this field of study has become increasingly critical. To represent the intangible ‘threat notion’ more tangibly, this article selects ‘China Threat’ as the security reference object, merging constructivist and Copenhagen School principles of ‘Identity,’ ‘Power,’ and ‘Intention.’ This forms the basis for constructing questionnaires. An experimental observation and questionnaire survey was conducted on master’s and doctoral students from the Republic of China (Taiwan) who had previously taken part in a large-scale decision-making simulation. The research applies a ‘quasi-experimental approach’ and ‘non-participant observation.’ The regression analysis reveals that the perception of the difference in ‘power’ and the perception of ‘harmful intent’ are relatively correlated and predictive of threat perception. In other words, when China’s military power and harmful intention become more assertive, the group’s threat perception increases. These correlation findings serve as an effective indicator for future research and measurement of ‘perceived strength of enemy threat,’ strengthening awareness of enemy threats within the group by addressing textual issues and the establishing the logic of securitization discourse.

AbstractWhile Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) play a crucial role in the development endeavors of Ethiopia, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) prefers to adopt a securitization approach, depicting their activities as a potential danger, counterproductive, amplify the voices of foreign actors, and ‘rent-seeking’. According to reports, CSOs have been characterized and delineated as political humanitarian, driven by self-interest, and as entities that amplify the voices of foreign actors. This study aims to elucidate the processes by which CSOs in Ethiopia were securitized and desecuritized, respectively, by the EPRDF government led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and the Prosperity Party. The paper explores the securitization and desecuritization dynamics of CSOs in Ethiopia, with a specific focus on the underlying reasons that contribute to these processes. This study also investigates the consequences of the EPRDF securitization measures on CSOs, as well as the potential obstacles faced by CSOs in Ethiopia. The analytical framework utilized in this study is the application of the notion of securitization as proposed by the Copenhagen School (CS). By constructing the data from unrevised documents, the paper characterizes the dynamics of securitization and desecuritization of CSOs in Ethiopia through an interpretive analytical approach.

European railway borders are facing a particular exposure to security threats and need a delicate balance between securitization and free movement, especially amid globalisation, the current geopolitical landscape and increased migrant flows. For example, the war in Ukraine illustrated the challenges experienced at the Eastern EU borders by the refugee migration surge in early 2022. This exploratory focuses on the European border security control process from the rail border perspective. It encompasses a descriptive synthesis of the lessons learned from the UIC Refugee Task Force as well as insights from the ongoing EU-funded Horizon Europe project ODYSSEUS (Unobtrusive Technologies for Secure and Seamless Border Crossing for Travel Facilitation). Project ODYSSEUS aims to support the security and integrity of the European space, reduce illegal movements of people and goods across EU borders, facilitate travelling for citizens all while protecting fundamental rights of travellers. The project will test a combination of multi-behavioural and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliant biometric user identity verification tools, allowing, when possible, citizens to cross EU border without any interruption or queue. Further, novel luggage and baggage checks will allow citizens’ vehicles and cargos to be remotely checked at land borders to speed up the border check processes in a secure and reliable manner. The project will run three pilot tests at road, rail and water borders. In this paper, we analyse the implementation of project’s technologies in the rail border crossing pilot test and discuss the implications for the actors involved in the process of railway border crossing (e.g., border authorities, railway operators and railway travellers).