This book provides an in-depth analysis of the securitisation of climate change in the US, Germany and Mexico and offers a rethinking of securitisation theory. Resting on a Foucauldian governmentality approach, it discusses how different climate security discourses have transformed the political handling of climate change and affected policies, practices and institutions. Going beyond the literature’s predominant focus on the global level, it gives a fine-grained examination of the political and institutional changes in different national contexts. Drawing on the governmentalisation of security, the book develops a new understanding of securitisation that focuses on the role of power. In doing so, it provides new insights into the transformative potential of linking climate change to security but also highlights the political and normative pitfalls of securitisation. ‘In this important book, Franziskus von Lucke provides a theoretically sophisticated and empirically rich account of the relationship between security and climate change. Developing a Foucauldian-inspired account of securitization, the book rejects blanket or universal claims about the climate change- security relationship, instead insisting on the need to critically examine how the securitization of climate change plays out in particular empirical contexts. Exploring the cases of the US, Germany and Mexico, von Lucke points to distinctive dynamics of securitization in these settings, with different implications for the practices these in turn encourage. Ultimately, this book constitutes an important addition to literature on the relationship between climate change and security, while developing a distinct and nuanced account of securitization that will be of interest to a wide range of scholars of security in international relations.’ —Associate Professor Matt McDonald is a Reader in International Relations at the University of Queensland, Australia ‘In 2019 a number of states and other actors (notably the European Union) have made climate emergency declarations. It is therefore more important than ever to understand what the securitization of the climate means. That is: Who can securitize? What security measures are likely/ deemed legitimate by relevant audiences? How does securitization affect the population within and outside a securitizing state? And perhaps most importantly of all, will it succeed? Franziskus von Lucke’s carefully researched book offers answers to all of these questions and many others besides. von Lucke proceeds by examining with the US, Mexico and Germany, three real-life empirical cases of climate securitization. Each one provides unique insights that enable a fuller understanding of climate security. Accessibly written this is a must read for scholars and practitioners alike.’ —Dr Rita Floyd, University of Birmingham, UK, author of The Morality of Security: A theory of just Securitization, CUP, 2019 With great empirical detail and conceptual clarity, the book compares discourses and practices of climate security in different contexts. An essential reading for anyone interested in international climate politics, securitization theory, governmentality and the notion of power in International Relations. —Dr Delf Rothe, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy Hamburg at the University of Hamburg, Germany
The speed and scale of climate change presents unique and potentially monumental security implications for individuals, future generations, international institutions and states. Long-dominant security paradigms and policies may no longer be appropriate for dealing with these new security risks of the Anthropocene. In response to this phenomenon, this book investigates how states have reacted to these new challenges and how their different understandings of the climate-security nexus might shape global actions on climate change. It focuses on the perceptions, framings, and policies of climate security by members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the world's highest ranking multilateral security forum. Empirically, the book presents detailed, bottom-up case studies from local authors of every UNSC member state in 2020. It combines this with an innovative theoretical approach spanning national, human and ecological security that helps to capture the complex dynamics of state-led approaches to dealing with security in the Anthropocene. This book therefore offers readers a compelling picture of climate-security politics in the UNSC, beyond Council debates and resolutions. By comparing and contrasting how different framings of climate security impact various policy sectors of members states, the authors are able to assess the barriers and opportunities for addressing climate security locally and globally. “This timely contribution to the literature on climate security examines the under-analysed relationship between the policy approaches of key countries at the national, and at the international level. Policy alignment at multiple levels of governance will be critical if we are to respond adequately to the ubiquitous challenges posed by climate change and variability.” Shirley Scott, Head of School and Professor, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, UNSW Canberra at the Australian Defence Force Academy (Australia). "Climate change is increasingly considered a problem of 'security', yet what that means remains deeply contested. Behind the rhetoric of 'climate crisis’, threats and 'emergencies’, UN Security Council members offer profoundly different ideas about what climate change – and security – mean, and what should be done about it. This book brilliantly lays out the hidden or overlooked divergences of interests and perspectives on 'climate security' that are playing out in the world's most central security institution, as it grapples with securing a climate unstable world." Olaf Corry, Professor of Global Security Challenges, Faculty of Social Sciences, School of Politics and International Studies, University of Leeds (United Kingdom). "Security is a contested concept, whose scope and direction are subject to change. The prime value of this volume is the systematic documentation of the dynamics in defining what security is about in reaction to ever dramatic climate change. The book's focus on a somewhat representative sample of states – the members of the Security Council – provides robust evidence that even though many governments remain reluctant to retreat from traditional perceptions of security, there is a large and growing acceptance of the need to adjust priorities in providing security in response to climate change and its consequences." Michael Brzoska, Professor and Senior Research Fellow, IFSH Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy, Universität Hamburg (Germany). "The climate security literature has often been labelled as West-centric with little recognition of knowledge production processes, and different historical, socio-economic, and political experiences of various societies in the Global South. This book goes beyond the conventional approaches to provide a whole range of perspectives on climate security reflective of diverse contextual realities – covering factors such as development imperatives, conflict dynamics, postcolonial legacies, institutional/actor complexities, and geopolitical contestations, among others. By focusing on the climate security approaches of various countries (case studies) at the domestic and international levels, the applicability of existing climate security frameworks (or lack thereof) in the context of these case studies is brilliantly brought out by the chapters. This book weaves together these diverse perspectives by providing a comprehensive overview of climate security-related policies of countries from both Global South and Global North; and their positions on climate change and security in the UNSC. They reflect the varying norms, interests, priorities, and challenges that continue to shape the climate security agenda within the UNSC as well as non-UNSC platforms. This book is a must read for anyone interested in gaining an in-depth and invigorating understanding of the evolution of distinct climate security discourses and practices in varying contexts." Dhanasree Jayaram, Assistant Professor, Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) (India), Research Fellow. Centre Marc Bloch. "Climate Security in the Anthropocene provides a timely and compelling account of the conceptualizations of the climate security nexus and their implications. By considering climate security through the lenses of national, human and ecological security it provides a sophisticated account of the different dimensions involved in the UNSC debates and beyond. The collection of chapters illustrating the positions of the members of the UN Security Council in 2020, not only provide an informative account but also sheds light on the challenges that the UNSC faces in dealing with climate change." Maria Julia Trombetta, Associate Professor in Politics and Environment, School of International Studies, Institute of Asia and Pacific Studies, University of Nottingham Ningbo China (China). "The book “Climate Security in the Anthropocene” is the first systematic assessment of climate security decision-making and governance of the UN Security Council. It is groundbreaking as it combines empirical bottom-up case studies of perceptions and policies of different ministries and governmental agencies of UNSC member states with a novel theoretical framework contrasting different security framings and conceptions in the Anthropocene. Discussing various policy sectors, the study assesses barriers and opportunities and provides novel insights on multi-scale responses and interactions in the climate-security nexus from local to global levels, connecting individuals, future generations, international institutions and states. The book is highly recommendable for everyone interested in the emerging field of policy-oriented climate-security research." Jürgen Scheffran, Professor for Integrative Geography, Head of the Research Group, “Climate Change and Security” (CLISEC), Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability, Universität Hamburg (Germany). "This volume provides multifocal insights into the climate/security nexus, combining critical security studies and international relations theories in the age of the Anthropocene. Analyzing the perceptions, policies, and positions of 15 UN Security Council member states, this thought-provoking piece demonstrates how national security, human security, and ecological security have advanced as conceptual innovations. Offering a rich and diverse range of empirical case studies, this piece is a strong contribution to academic discourse and teaching alike." Franziska MüllerJunior Professor for Political Science, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, Universität Hamburg (Germany).
This topical Handbook explores the emergence of climate change as an international security issue, the threats it poses, and the political and academic debates it has prompted. Framing climate change as a security issue, it explores the ways relevant actors, states and international organizations have conceptualized climate security and its associated threats.
This book examines the European Union (EU)'s contribution to the development of the global climate regime within the broader framework of global justice. It argues that the procedural dimension of justice has been largely overlooked so far in the assessment of EU climate policy and reveals that the EU has significantly contributed to the development of the climate regime within its broader efforts to ‘solidarise’ international society. At the same time, the book identifies deficits of the climate regime and limits to the EU’s impact, and explains why the EU policy towards global climate change has shifted over time. Finally, it argues that these policies should not be assessed in terms of being wholly positive or wholly negative, but that they are shot through with ambiguities. This book will be of key interest to scholars, students, and practitioners of climate change, climate politics, and environmental and climate justice studies, and more broadly to EU Studies and International Relations.
This book provides both a retrospective and prospective look at Turkey on the occasion of the country’s centenary. It covers numerous important issues, including political, economic, and cultural development, the role and performance of political institutions, and foreign policy and Turkey’s place in its region and the wider world. The Republic of Turkey’s centenary in 2023 is an opportune time to assess the country’s achievements and shortcomings as well as look ahead as to how Turkey may cope with current challenges. This volume, comprised of empirically rich and theory-informed analytical essays written by a global collection of leading scholars on contemporary Turkey, addresses many central issues that bear both on the Republic’s history as well as on major political, social, economic, cultural, and foreign policy issues that confront Turkey today. Much focus is given to particular “turning points” in the past as well as how 2023, during which Turkey had a highly-contested and polarized election, may also serve as a critical juncture for the country. Reflections on the Centenary of the Republic of Turkey will be a key resource for scholars and researchers of Middle Eastern studies and Turkish history, politics, and foreign policy. This book was originally published as a special issue of Turkish Studies.
This book provides the first systematic comparative analysis of climate security discourses. It analyses the securitisation of climate change in four different countries: USA, Germany, Turkey, and Mexico. The empirical analysis traces how specific climate-security discourses have become dominant, which actors have driven this process, what political consequences this has had and what role the broader context has played in enabling these specific securitisations. In doing so, the book outlines a new and systematic theoretical framework that distinguishes between different referent objects of securitisation (territorial, individual and planetary) and between a security and risk dimension. It thereby clarifies the ever-increasing literature on different forms of securitisation and the relationship between security, risk and politics. Whereas securitisation studies have traditionally focused on either a single country case study or a global overview, consequently failing to reconstruct detailed securitisation dynamics, this is the first book to provide a systematic comparative analysis of climate security discourses in four countries and thus closes an empirical gap in the present literature. In addition, this comparative framework allows the drawing of conclusions about the conditions for and consequences of successful securitisation based on empirical and comparative analysis rather than theoretical debate only. This book will of interest to students of climate change, environmental studies, critical security, global governance, and IR in general.
The definitive applied theory textbook that helps you make sense of global issues through theoretical concepts. Not presupposing any prior knowledge, this introduction equips you with the skills to use theories as adaptable tools to tackle complex global issues. Adopting a critical and questioning approach, you will be equipped in theory as a series of tools to be used, adapted, combined, and applied when grappling with some of the most contested issues in global politics. Theoretical perspectives are brought alive as a vital tool to understand concrete historical and contemporary examples. This indispensable text starts by examining key theories spanning constructivism and postcolonialism to realism and liberalism with a real-world perspective which prioritises empirical purchase. From here, chapters take a critical, questioning approach to tackle core problems of international politics – from armed conflict and financial markets to the climate crisis, global inequality, gender and race. This text is the ideal companion for all undergraduate and postgraduate students of global affairs. Hubert Zimmermann is Professor of International Relations at Philipps University of Marburg, Germany. Milena Elsinger is Head of the student information department at Philipps University of Marburg, Germany. Alex Burkhardt teaches at the Bundessprachenamt in Koblenz, Germany and previously taught at Philipps University Marburg, Germany.
This book explores the consequences of the last three decades’ substantial neoliberal securitisation of freedom of speech, democracy and social security of racialised groups. Its empirical material contains in-depth interviews with racialised politicians, journalists, academics and civil society activists in Sweden. Like many other countries, Sweden has combined a neoliberal reorganisation of society with securitisation policies in which ‘the war on terror’ has played a central role. In order to understand the complexity of neoliberal securitisation policies and the analysis of the empiric material, the study makes use of central theoretical concepts, such as ‘the spiral of silence’, ‘symbolic violence’, ‘governmentalisation’ and ‘neoliberal racism.’ It will be of particular interest to students and scholars of political sociology, social policy and social work.
Realist assumptions of security studies increasingly have been challenged by an approach that places the human being, rather than the state, at the center of security concerns. This book is structured around three concepts - security, community, and emancipation - that arguably are central to the future shape of world politics.
