The Copenhagen School (international relations)

The Copenhagen School of security studies is a school of academic thought with its origins in international relations theorist Barry Buzan's book "People, States and Fear: The National Security Problem in International Relations", first published in 1983. The Copenhagen School places particular emphasis upon the social aspects of security. Theorists associated with the school include Barry Buzan, Ole Wæver and Jaap de Wilde. Many of the school's members worked at the Copenhagen Peace Research Institute.

The primary book of the Copenhagen School is "Security: a new framework for analysis" written by Barry Buzan, Ole Wæver and Jaap de Wilde.

The theory focuses on three key concepts:- Sectors,- Regional Security Complexes,- Securitization

The concept of sectors concerns the different arenas where we speak security. The list of sectors is primary an analytical tool created to spot different dynamics. In "Security: a new framework for analysis" the authors lists the following sectors: Military/state, political, Societal, Economic, and Environmental.

The concept of regional security complexes covers how security is clustered in regions. Security-concerns does not travel well over distances and threats are therefore most likely to occur in the region. The security of each actor in a region interacts with the security of the other actors.

The concept of securitization is probably the most interesting in the Copenhagen School. It is argued that 'security' is a "speech act" with distinct consequences in the context over international politics. By talking security an actor tries to move a topic away from politics and into an area of security concerns thereby legitimating extraordinary means against the socially constructed threat. The process of securitization is "intersubjective" meaning that it is neither a question of an objective threat or a subjective perception of a threat. Instead securitization of a subject depends on an audience accepting the securitization speech act.