The Integration of Western Balkans in the European Union. A Securitization Approach.
The Integration of Western Balkans in the European Union. A Securitization Approach.

Summary/Abstract: The hypothesis proposed for analysis in this article suggests that the public speech and mass-communication can be used by political elites as a tool to induce and influence the public perception with regard on what is a challenge to security (and perception of security) and to determine certain preferences and behaviors. This approach, developed within the “securitization theory” by the Copenhagen School of International Relations, insist on the importance of understanding securitization as an act of speech. Within the same theoretical framework we can use the model of “desecuritization” as a mechanism to transform something that is perceived as a threat into something that might be seen as an opportunity. From this perspective, we propose an analysis on the Western Balkan Region in relation with the idea of future integration into the European Union, focused on perceptions, preferences, expectations of the public opinion, as well as the public speech used by political elites. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the constructivist approaches and especially “de-securitization” can offer the best options to evaluate the readiness of integration of WBS into the EU.

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