Special Feature des Europe Now Journals
Securitization of Identity
This special issue on Securitization of Identity has been curated by the SECUREU network. This network is a Jean Monnet Network grant funded by the European Commission. The network is made up of the Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI), Spain; University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands; University of Glasgow, United Kingdom; Herder Institute for Historical Research on East Central Europe – Institute of the Leibniz Association, Germany; European Academy of Bozen-Bolzano (EURAC Research) Bolzano, Italy; Koç University, Turkey; and Council for European Studies (European Office in Spain).
The SECUREU project brings together researchers from across Europe and its neighborhood to examine the processes at work when ethnic minorities and migration are securitized within Europe. Such processes of securitization can lead to a reduction of complexity and diversity, where identity becomes monolithic, along with the creation of an “Us” and “Them” discourse. While securitization as a concept has a long history, the application of securitization to ethnic minorities and migration is more recent. The SECUREU network focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of the xenophobia that develops from these processes at many levels of society—the EU itself, nation-states and local-level. Researchers who specialize on securitization, ethnic minorities and migration seek new perspectives and synergies across these research programs.
