Securitisation

Abstract

This chapter provides a brief summary of the theory of securitisation as a process to frame the global existential threats. Several schools of thought are considered with particular attention given to the securitisation theory developed by the Copenhagen School, which asks the question, ‘What is a security issue?’ and how this relates to policy and politics. In doing so key concepts are identified, and a case study focusing on the water in the Ganges Basin is presented to illustrate these. Finally, the relationship of soft securitisation to the issue of global soil security is developed.