(Des)securitizing Policies and Practices: EU-Russia Relations and the 'War on Terrorism' - Building or Closing Borders?

Abstract

By looking at the understandings beneath the conceptualizations of security, the definitions about the 'war on terrorism', and the social constructions of 'the other' both in Russia and the EU, the paper argues that the securitization of the 'war on terrorism' despite following shared concerns and fitting the same labelling, implies differentiated understandings, leading to the securitization of different objects. This mismatch in understanding has been translated into policies and practices and has led to increasing friction in the relation, not just driven by internalized procedures, but also fostered by the external context, in a co-constitutive manner. The paper understands that the clarification and implementation of joint counter-terrorist efforts demands concerted action, along with a streamlining of these approaches into concrete common actions.