From Securitization to Desecuritization? Tracking the Evolution of European Union Security Discourses on Climate Change

Previous studies of European Union (EU) discourses related to climate change detected a significant degree of securitization. This paper argues that scholars must more carefully disentangle issue areas to get a full and accurate account of what securitization processes might be underway – and why. In this paper, by distinguishing climate change policies between those associated with climate change mitigation and those related to climate change adaptation, we show that the latter are subject to a different set of discursive influences, including close association with the United Nations (UN), and a different set of policy demands, including local-level implementation. Our analysis shows that these discursive influences and policy dynamics help explain why the EU politics surrounding climate change adaptation shows less signs of securitization, and more signs of riskification – or even desecuritization – instead. Evidence from textual analysis and participant interviews, drawn from both the EU and UN venues, provide the material for the analysis, and allow us to pinpoint drivers of less securitized climate change politics in some cases.