ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the core aspects of securitization theory, elaborating on its strengths and weaknesses and on how its assumptions relate to other developments within the field of security studies. The main theoretical critiques against and contributions to securitization are discussed. The chapter also shows how numerous empirical applications have analyzed threat constructions in a wide array of areas, such as terrorism, immigration, and epidemics, in various empirical settings. By way of conclusion, the chapter reflects on how the various debates have resulted in theoretical refinement, but stresses nonetheless that the plasticity of the original securitization framework – often criticized for its imprecision – is actually its main asset. In concert with other chapters of the volume, this chapter argues that it is precisely the malleability of what constitutes the securitizing agent and the audience, as well as the openness regarding the threat and the referent object, that makes the theory suitable for analyzing a broad range of issues, contexts, and actors. The overall contribution of both this chapter and of the volume as a whole is thus to point out some of the deficiencies in the theory and its applications, as well as attempting to rectify this state of affairs.
