‘Making’ Security: Citizenship, Public Sphere and the Condition of Symbolic Annihilation

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between new forms of European governance, as expressed through security-focused policies, and the European citizen. It seeks to unravel the contextual framework within which the notion of civil liberties, citizens’ participation in the democratisation of supranational and international politics, and the supranational governance are re-defined.

The paper argues that the processes of ‘securitisation’ have an impact for the democratic functioning of citizenship by

 a) restricting the spaces and processes of action and communication among citizens

 b) restricting citizens’ access to policymaking, in particular in highly sensitive areas, for their effect on civil liberties; and

 c) prioritising the executive branches of the European polity at the expense of representative politics and the judiciary.

This combination of policy trends contributes to the ‘symbolic annihilation’ of EU citizens.

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‘Making’ Security: Citizenship, Public Sphere and the Condition of Symbolic Annihilation