Introduction

This introductory chapter sets the stage for the range of applications and interrogations of securitization contained in this book. It does so primarily by chronicling the larger shift in the security studies field toward critical approaches which, in turn, paved the way for the so-called ‘constructivist turn’ and the development of securitization as a concept (C.A.S.E. Collective, 2006). This chapter situates the constructivist turn in relation to the emergence of critical security studies – a broader ontological shift itself explained by a convergence of social forces and intellectual factors. Following this origin story, we turn to a synthetic review of the main contributions of the constructivist turn to security studies, and what we consider its signal contribution: namely, the concept of securitization. This effort at providing a brief and synthetic intellectual history of securitization helps set the stage for the articulation of three common overarching concerns around which the inquiries and investigations advanced in this volume are oriented.