CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2022
| Author | Ruskova, Veronika |
|---|---|
| Title | The 'War' on COVID-19 and the Global Impact on Human Security: Bridging the Gap Between Securitization and Desecuritization |
| Summary | Does COVID-19 fall under the scope of international security? Based on theories of securitization, this paper argues that the recent efforts to formulate the global response to COVID-19 in international security language have been presented with a complex normative dilemma. With the goal of securitizing COVID-19 to control the effects of the virus and strengthening international initiatives through the increase of attention and resources, increasing awareness and funds, language of security simultaneously takes control of the disease from civil society and places it in the hands of military and intelligence agencies that can override the rights of citizens in the affected countries. Naturally, a “threat-defence” logic is brought into play in the security framework, which in return weakens the international efforts used to combat the COVID-19 initially. With the securitization of COVID-19—rather than being motivated by altruism—it can be seen that such efforts are motivated by narrow national interests. Further, the depiction of COVID-19 as an overwhelming ‘threat’ is counterproductive to the ongoing efforts to normalize the social perceptions of the disease. Consequently, the combination of these neglected dangers presents an ethical quandary as to whether or not the global spread of COVID-19 should be treated as a security threat. The theoretical questions once posed concerning the effects and ramifications of securitizing an international public health issue will be now analyzed both qualitatively through the theory of securitization, as well as quantitatively. Due to these dangers, the case will be made for accurate and prompt desecuritization as soon as conditions permit. As a result of the paper's findings, securitization theory cannot resolve the complex issue, but bringing it to the attention of scholars, activists, and policymakers, may empower them to identify connections between COVID-19 and ‘security’ in such a way which could hopefully reduce the dangers of some of these risks, today, and in the future. |
| Supervisor | Roe, Paul |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2022/ruskova_veronika.pdf |
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