Gellwitzki, Nicolai and Price, Charlie W. (2024) Liquid Fear, Agency, and the (Un)conscious in Securitisation Processes:The Case of the UK’s Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic. Millennium: Journal of International Studies. ISSN 0305-8298
Abstract
Scholarship on securitisation in International Relations is stratified into different strands of research that compartmentalise fear into narrow logics that focus on either its agential or unconscious aspects. We take Zygmunt Bauman’s notion of ‘Liquid Fear’ to develop a framework that offers a conceptualisation which allows for a more complex and nuanced understanding of the intricate relationship between the emotion of fear and agency, intentionality, and unconscious. We argue that pre-existing affective dynamics outside of individual actors’ control are instrumental for securitisation to occur. Actors can attempt to stir and instrumentalise these dynamics by channelling them into particular objects whereas every channelling always entails the risk of overflowing and unintentional side effects. We demonstrate the analytical utility of our approach through the case study of the securitisation of Covid-19 in the UK which we argue can only be understood by accounting for agential and unconscious aspects.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2024 |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Faculty of Social Sciences (York) > Politics (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 03 Jul 2024 08:00 |
Last Modified: | 21 Jan 2025 18:13 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298241265264 |
Status: | Published online |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/03058298241265264 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:214204 |
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Description: Liquid Fear, Agency and the (Un)conscious in Securitisation Processes: The Case of the UK’s Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Licence: CC-BY-NC 2.5