From Copenhagen to Kampala - Understanding Securitization Through the Postcolonial Context

In: CCS Working Papers

Abstract

With their concept of securitization ; the Copenhagen School has introduced an ontological ; epistemological ; and methodological turn in the academic field of security studies that produced a wide body of literature by broadening ; widening ; and deepening the discourse. Especially more sociological scholars have stressed the importance of social contexts and illustrated how the inclusion of those allows for a better understanding of securitizing processes. Yet ; despite the enormous increase and prominence of postcolonial works ; securitization scholars have failed to properly incorporate and adapt to this postcolonial turn. This article sets out to bridge this missing link between securitization ; social contexts ; and the concept of the postcolonial. Combining a wide range of secondary literature ; this article proposes an analytical framework of the postcolonial context that functions as an intersectional site which encompasses the interconnectedness of discursive ; material ; and power structures (socio-linguistic and socio-political dimensions of context) and that includes a temporal (pre-colonial ; colonial ; and post-independent) as well as spatial (local ; national ; regional ; global) dimension. The securitization of homosexuality in Uganda functions as a helpful case to illustrate both the benefit and necessity of applying the underlying conceptualization of the postcolonial context to securitization theory. Not only does it help to better understand matters of homosexuality in the Ugandan context ; but it also offers an innovative contribution to the general discourse on securitization and facilitates to extend its application to non-European settings.