CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020
| Author | Voda, Matej |
|---|---|
| Title | The Presidential Performance: Securitization Theory, Aesthetic Turn, and Outsider legitimacy |
| Summary | Since its original formulation by the Copenhagen School, the securitization theory received significant attention as an innovative way to analyze issues of security. As it was originally formulated, securitization scholars highlighted how our understanding of security is socially constructed and analyzed various speech acts through which securitizing actors try to acquire the assent of a relevant audience for the adoption of extraordinary measures. Yet, it has been argued that this specific framework has its limitations. In this thesis, I focus on three blind spots, which are embedded in the theory’s focus on speech, the politics of exception, and the under-developed concept of the audience. In contrast, this thesis seeks to put forward an understanding of securitization that draws on the insights from the so-called aesthetic turn in international relations. First, instead of speech, I focus on politics as multisensory. Second, instead of the language of urgency and extraordinary measures, I focus on popular culture seen as part of the politics of the everyday. Third, instead of assuming securitizing actors and audiences as established categories, I analyze how they were performed into being. Instead of asking: how do security problems emerge? I elaborate on the question: how do securitizing actors emerge? I argue that once securitizing actors acquire the legitimacy to speak on security issues, they have already gained a privileged position in the intersubjective field of power. I contend that we must consider the (everyday) politics of becoming a securitizing actor as a multisensory performance, and as part of the process of securitization. I then outline possible ways of conducting such analysis on the case study of Donald Trump’s performance in the reality TV show The Apprentice. |
| Supervisor | Roe, Paul |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2020/voda_matej.pdf |
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