Non-traditional security in Greece: terrorism, migration and securitisation theory

This thesis is about the shift in Greek security policy and thinking from a narrow focus on military issues and Greek-Turkish relations to a broader and more sophisticated policy, where 'internal' threats and non-traditional security issues are increasingly dominating the agenda. Drawing on debates in International Relations on the concept of security, this thesis assesses the conceptual and policy changes towards terrorism and immigration in Greece and argues that both issues have become central security concerns.To explore the shift towards security in Greek policies on terrorism and migration this thesis utilises the theory of 'securitisation', as developed by the 'Copenhagen School of Security Studies'. Despite its prominence in the literature on security studies, the specific dynamics of securitisation remain poorly understood. Adopting a constructivist security approach, this thesis aims to analyse the process through which terrorism and migration were upgraded in the Greek security agenda, as well as the reasons and the consequences of that move.The study argues that the securitisation of internal security issues may have varying and wide-ranging effects. On the one hand, the belated securitisation of terrorism in Greece in the late 1990s was arguably the catalyst for the arrest of the 'Revolutionary Organisation 17 November' in 2002. On the other hand, the security logic of Greek migration policy has served as the legitimising factor for the restrictive -at times even xenophobicresponses of the Greek state and has been one of the main obstacles for the development of a more substantive approach to migration in Greece.The overall analysis contributes to the understanding of policy developments in Greece on migration and terrorism and parallels these to developments in the European Union. In addition, by adopting an empirical approach, this thesis provides a practical assessment of the dynamics and value of securitisation theory, identifies some of its shortcomings, and contributes to improving and strengthening the theory