Is securitization theory racist? Civilizationism, methodological whiteness and antiblack thought in the Copenhagen School

This article provides the first excavation of the foundational role of racist thought in Securitization Theory’s (ST) conceptual and methodological project. We demonstrate that Copenhagen School ST is structured not only by Eurocentrism, but also civilizationism, methodological Whiteness, and antiblack racism. Classic ST begins with a theory of ‘normal politics’ as reasoned, civilized dialogue and securitization as a potential regression into a racially coded uncivilized ‘state of nature’. It justifies this through a civilizationist history of the world that privileges Europe as the apex of civilized ‘desecuritization’, sanitizing its violent (settler) colonial projects, and the racial violence of normal liberal politics. It then constructs a methodologically White framework that uses speech act theory to locate ‘progress’ towards normal politics and the curbing of securitization in Europe. This methodological Whiteness produces normative Whiteness, that is, the theory does not just describe desecuritization as European progress, it normatively asserts that becoming or remaining like Europe is a moral imperative. Using ostensibly neutral terms, ST prioritizes order over justice, positioning the ST theorist as the defender of (White) ‘civilized politics’ against (racialized) ‘primal anarchy’. Antiblackness is a crucial building block in ST’s conceptual edifice dividing security from politics: ST finds ‘primal anarchy’ especially in ‘Africa’, casting it as irrationally over-securitized, making it a foil to ‘civilized politics’. We conclude by discussing whether other versions of ST emulate or dispense with the racism of classic ST, and a discussion of whether the theory, or even just the concept of securitization, can be recuperated.