SECURITIZING TOOLS AND THEIR SOCIETAL EFFECTS: PERCEPTIONS OF RISKS AND THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY IN ROMANIA
SECURITIZING TOOLS AND THEIR SOCIETAL EFFECTS: PERCEPTIONS OF RISKS AND THREATS TO NATIONAL SECURITY IN ROMANIA

Summary/Abstract: This article investigates the acceptance of securitizing narratives by different professional and age-based audiences in Romania. Through analysing the results of a q-sort questionnaire created and administered by the National Institute for Intelligence Studies, the article argues that different audiences relate very diversely to narratives of risk. The article begins by outlining the development of the theory of securitization and its transition to include a focus on audience acceptance. Further, the article describes the Romanian 2015 Strategy for Homeland Defense as a key “tool” of securitization. Finally, the article looks into the differential acceptance by distinct audiences of different risk narratives outlined by the Strategy, as discovered through q-sorting. Results show that older people fear Russian expansionism and that governmental employees reject the idea that bad governance is a risk to security.

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