Liquid Fear, Agency, and the (Un)conscious in Securitisation Processes: The Case of the UK’s Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Nicolai Gellwitzki; Charlie W. Price

doi:10.1177/03058298241265264

Liquid Fear, Agency, and the (Un)conscious in Securitisation Processes: The Case of the UK’s Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

Nicolai Gellwitzki^*, Charlie W. Price

^*Corresponding author for this work

Politics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Scholarship on securitisation in International Relations is stratified into different strands of research that compartmentalise fear into narrow logics that focus on either its agential or unconscious aspects. We take Zygmunt Bauman’s notion of ‘Liquid Fear’ to develop a framework that offers a conceptualisation which allows for a more complex and nuanced understanding of the intricate relationship between the emotion of fear and agency, intentionality, and unconscious. We argue that pre-existing affective dynamics outside of individual actors’ control are instrumental for securitisation to occur. Actors can attempt to stir and instrumentalise these dynamics by channelling them into particular objects whereas every channelling always entails the risk of overflowing and unintentional side effects. We demonstrate the analytical utility of our approach through the case study of the securitisation of Covid-19 in the UK which we argue can only be understood by accounting for agential and unconscious aspects.

Original language	English
Journal	Millennium: Journal of International Studies
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298241265264
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 12 Jun 2024

Bibliographical note

This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the University’s Research Publications and Open Access policy.

Access to Document

10.1177/03058298241265264

Embargoed Document

Accepted Version
Accepted author manuscript, 352 KB
Licence: CC BY
Embargo ends: 31/12/99

Cite this

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abstract = "Scholarship on securitisation in International Relations is stratified into different strands of research that compartmentalise fear into narrow logics that focus on either its agential or unconscious aspects. We take Zygmunt Bauman{\textquoteright}s notion of {\textquoteleft}Liquid Fear{\textquoteright} to develop a framework that offers a conceptualisation which allows for a more complex and nuanced understanding of the intricate relationship between the emotion of fear and agency, intentionality, and unconscious. We argue that pre-existing affective dynamics outside of individual actors{\textquoteright} control are instrumental for securitisation to occur. Actors can attempt to stir and instrumentalise these dynamics by channelling them into particular objects whereas every channelling always entails the risk of overflowing and unintentional side effects. We demonstrate the analytical utility of our approach through the case study of the securitisation of Covid-19 in the UK which we argue can only be understood by accounting for agential and unconscious aspects.",

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