Introduction and Theoretical Framework

Abstract

The first part of this chapter discusses how the security implications of climate change have become an issue in academic and political debates and how this relates to the main puzzle of the book, that is, to understand multiple securitisations and their political effects. The second part introduces a novel theoretical approach to securitisation. Based on Foucault’s ‘power triangle’, the chapter develops three ideal-typical climate security discourses that guide the empirical analysis. The chapter argues that a power-centred approach can better grasp the manifold forms of securitisation in contemporary political debates because it helps to understand the continuous transformation of security, sheds light on the constitution of security subjects and objects, and contextualises the bidirectional political and the normative consequences of linking non-traditional issues to security.