The Securitisation of the International Economic and Financial Crisis

This study explores the development of the Concerted European Response from adoption of the European Action Plan by the euro group, to the adoption of the Economic Recovery Plan by the European Council. The theoretical framework employed to assess this process is based on the works of the Copenhagen School on securitisation. However, In order to analyse the economic and financial crisis through a security perspective this study moves away from the state-centric perspective employed in traditional security analysis and introduces a new conceptualisation of the referent object. The perceived security threat associated with the economic and financial crisis evolved considerably during the course of the autumn. This transition reflects the evolution of the crisis from turmoil in the financial markets to recession. By referring to the crisis as something existentially threatening European policy-makers moved to legitimise measures that during normal circumstances would have been considered impossible. The Heads of State and Government, and the Commission, thus securitised the economic and financial crisis in order to justify the implementation of extraordinary measures to arrest the threatening development