The EU as a securitising agent? Testing the model, advancing the literature

Abstract

EU actorness even in turbulent times has been re-affirmed by a largely overlooked phenomenon – namely, the emergence of the EU as an agent of collective securitisation. The fundamental claim of securitisation theory is that threat emergence and management are shaped by the actions of a securitising agent that explicitly links together the social construction of the threat with socially acceptable governance or policy measures. This concluding piece of the Special Issue proceeds from the twin assumptions that securitisation is possible within the EU space and that securitisation affects the nature and modalities of EU security governance across different policy domains. The concept of collective securitisation which frames these assumptions thus broadens our understanding of the EU as a security actor. Summarising the main findings of the Special Issue, the article first revisits the case-study evidence and then offers reflections on how collective securitisation relates to securitisation theory more broadly.