Securitization And Democracy In Eurasia

This open-access book presents cutting-edge research on securitization and democratic development in the OSCE Region. Gathering contributions by practitioners and researchers from various disciplines, it presents case studies and highlights recent activities of proactive engagement in democratic institution-building and responding to security threats from the Balkans to Central Asia. The volume is divided into three parts, the first of which focuses on security-related matters, armed conflicts, minorities, and women’s safety, as well as the roles that civil society, foreign governments, social media, and external donors play in this area. These contributions illustrate how the OSCE’s informal approach to peace, security, and securitization as norm entrepreneur is closely linked to the level of democracy among its member states. The second part presents a special section on the political implications of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), assessing the impact of this infrastructural program on the levels of democracy and/or autocracy in Eurasia. The third part consists of short chapters outlining future research and debates. The book will appeal to students and scholars of international relations, security studies, and the human rights-politics nexus. This is the 2022 instalment in a series of books released by the OSCE Academy in Bishkek. The OSCE works to promote Minority Protection, Security, Democratic Development and Human Rights, guided by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and to enhance securitization and development policies in Eurasia, Europe, Central Asia and North America. Since being founded in 1993, the OSCE and its agencies and departments have attracted a wealth of academic research in various fields and disciplines, ranging from economic development and election monitoring to enhancing global principles of human rights and securitization.

This open access book features various studies on democratization, transformation, political and economic development, and security issues in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) geographical region and beyond. Written by experts and academics in the fields of human rights, security, transformation and development, particularly in post-soviet and communist countries, it examines the status quo of regime development in various member states of the OSCE; their economic, security and human rights performance; institutional reforms and transformations and the challenges that these countries and their societies face, including the USA, Canada, Germany, Macedonia, Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. This is the 2019 edition of this Compilation Series of the OSCE Academy. The OSCE works to promote Minority Protection, Security, Democratic Development and Human Rights guided by the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), and to enhance securitization and development policies in Eurasia, Europe, Central Asia and North America. Since being founded in 1993, the OSCE and its agencies and departments have attracted a wealth of academic research in various fields and disciplines, ranging from economic development and election monitoring to enhancing global principles of human rights and securitization. About the OSCE Academy in Bishkek: Founded in 2004, the Academy offers post-Doc research fellowships and runs two Master Degrees, one in Economic Governance and Development and one in Politics and Security in Central Asia. The Academy"s regular academic programs and conference contributes to developing human professional capital in the sectors of particular importance for Central Asian states and societies. The Academy's graduates and visiting researchers contribute to economic development, governance and policy-making in Central Asia and beyond the OSCE region. Website: http: //www.osce-academy.net/en/about/ This work was published by Saint Philip Street Press pursuant to a Creative Commons license permitting commercial use. All rights not granted by the work's license are retained by the author or authors.

This book traces three decades of securitization in Angola. As a governing strategy during war and peacetime, it muted the aspirations of those on opposing sides, distorted the state, emboldened elites and redefined the identity of Angolans. Through this lens, Paula Cristina Roque provides an original account of Angola's post-conflict state-building. Securitization protected the interests of President dos Santos, the ruling MPLA party and the elites supporting the regime. Angola's array of security forces and infrastructure provided an alternative to a fully functioning executive, at national, provincial and local levels. The intrusive way in which any form of dissent or activism was crushed allowed the presidency to control the direction and narrative of the post-war years. But the facade of democracy, development and stability hid a very different reality for the majority of Angolans, who remained poor, disenfranchised and marginalized. Roque explores the inner workings of the intelligence services, army and presidential guard, explaining the trajectory of a survivalist and fearful regime presiding over scarcities and injustices. She shows that the survival of national security and governing elites was the highest priority. The 'shadows' held far more power than institutions, and weakened them-widening the gap between government and governed.

Pakistan occupies an elevated role in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and hosts its ‘flagship’ project, the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It has attracted the largest volume of investments under the BRI and opened itself comprehensively to its transformative potential. This book provides a comprehensive analysis of CPEC’s impact on Pakistan’s economy, politics, and society, covering its developmental benefits as well as resulting controversies. Interdisciplinary and international experts capture the complexity of CPEC, presenting new empirical data in the form of interviews, archival materials, and documentary evidence. Covering topics ranging from agriculture to the environment, gender to security, they focus on local outcomes challenging prevalent narratives about the BRI as a strategic, China-driven vehicle to transform other countries in its image. They argue that examples like CPEC should be understood as interactive processes between China and its international partners, which produce interdependent relations between them. Beyond the case of CPEC, these findings contribute to the burgeoning field of ‘Global China’, through a comprehensive yet granular assessment of the first ten years of the BRI’s flagship project. This book will be of interest to scholars of area studies, regionalization, international relations and development studies, as well as China studies and South Asia studies focused on the most important and far-reaching national-level implementation of the BRI to date.

Moving from a social movement perspective, this timely volume examines narratives on Euroscepticism and frames on Europe from below, at the party and social movement levels. Revealing perspectives from both the Right and the Left, it unpacks the emergence, re-emergence and increase in critical ‘voices’ and opposition towards Europe. Based on extensive fieldwork in two candidate countries for accession to the EU and three member states, it offers insight from analysis of focus groups, interviews with Eurosceptic and pro-European political actors and ordinary citizens, together with frame analysis and scrutiny of archival material, electoral manifestoes and organisational documents. Revealing the development of Eurocritical frames, it demonstrates the differences and similarities in narratives used to address Europe and the conceptualisation of Euroscepticism. Key cases examined include the rise of illiberalism in post-transition Slovenia; complex Euroscepticism in Poland; the path from strong support to harsh opposition in Italy; indecision over membership in North Macedonia; anticipating the future while revisiting the past in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Offering guidelines for the direction of future research and policy, European Narratives and Euroscepticism in the Western Balkans and the EU is essential reading for scholars and students of political sociology, political science, European studies and international relations, as well as policy makers concerned with trajectories pro and against Europe and the European integration process.

The volume is the first study to explore the intersection of memory and securitisation in the European context. By analysing a variety of practices ranging from film to art and new media, the book expands the existing theoretical framework of securitisation. The authors consider memory as a precondition for contemporary integration projects such as the European Union, and also showcase how memory is used to stage international conflicts. Following this memory-securitisation nexus, the European Union, and Europe more generally, emerges as an on-going cultural, political and social project. The book also examines developments outside the EU such as the conflict in Ukraine and the creation of the Eurasian Economic Union, which, the authors argues, have a profound impact on Europe. From a consideration of historical contexts such as national referenda the discussion proceeds to media and film analysis, artistic practice and more transient phenomena such as climate change.

This book argues that Islam has been securitized in US foreign policy, especially during the W. Bush administration when it was increasingly portrayed as the ultimate “other.” This securitization was realized through the association of Islam with unique security threats in speeches of foreign policy and national security. By analyzing the four recent US presidents’ discourses on Islam, this work sheds light on how they viewed Islam and addresses the following questions: How do we talk about Islam, its place and relationship within the context of US security? How does the language we use to describe Islam influence the way we imagine it? How is Islam constructed as a security issue?

This open access book features various studies on democratization, transformation, socio-economic development, and security issues in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) geographical region and beyond. Written by experts and scholars working in the field of human dimension, security, transformation and development in Europe and Asia, particularly in post-soviet and communist countries, it examines the connectivity that the OSCE provides between the East and the West. The 2021 edition of this Compilation Series of the OSCE Academy presents studies on peace and conflict as well as political regime development in various member states of the OSCE as well as their economic, security and human rights performance and the challenges countries and society face currently. The OSCE is working in promoting Human Rights and Democratization under the notion of Human Dimension of ODIHR and is enhancing securitization and development policies in Eurasia, Europe, Central Asia and North America since 1991. 2021 marks the 30th anniversary on the tremendous efforts in promoting democracy, security and development. This compilation reviews some of these efforts in light of this anniversary, the achievements and shortcomings.