ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the terrorism and security from the perspective of politics. It also explains security politics defined as the activity of politicians when connected in some way to security has been largely excluded from existing scholarly approaches to terrorism and security. Securitisation theory has been a growth area in security studies for the past two decades and has probably come closest to considering the role of politicians in the problem and practice of security. More sociological developments of securitisation theory have tackled the audience' problem by stressing the iterative possibilities of security discourse. The classic trope assumes that the existential realm of security is of such importance that normal politics and law should give way to sovereign or executive power in order to deal with security threats. The analytical and political effect of this trope is the reification of sovereign or executive power as the fundamental security actor, excluding a wider analysis of security politics.
