Transnational securitisation of identity

Distinctions between securitisation and ‘othering’ of Shias in Bahrain and Pakistan

Datos Bibliográficos

ID13006282
AutoresHasan Hafidh (0000-0002-8636-3325, King's College London, autor de correspondencia), Maryyum Mehmood (University of Oxford)
Año2019
Volumen9
Número4
Páginas679-697
Fecha de publicación2019-11-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaGlobal Discourse (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2043-7897 • E-ISSN: 2326-9995
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1332/204378919x15718899241723
OpenAlexW2995521248
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas20

This paper aims to shed light on the phenomenon of transnational securitisation of identity and how it influences state-level securitisation and communal ‘othering’. We propose a more nuanced understanding of state-societal relations by viewing ‘othering’ as a by-product of various types of securitisation of identities, as opposed to the normative assumption within existing scholarship that applies these concepts interchangeably. This provides a more discernible lens through which certain cultural processes of discrimination are articulated, manifest and evaluated. The basis for our analysis is presented by comparing the persecution levelled against Shia communities within Bahrain and Pakistan, respectively. In the case of Bahrain, transnational securitisation amplifies pre-existing state securitisation, with external agents – in this context, Saudi Arabia – harnessing the hard power tactic of military intervention, as witnessed during the 2011 uprisings. Whereas in the case of Pakistan, transnational securitisation is performed by utilising soft power mechanisms, namely the legacy of petro-dollar wealth that has been used as a form of extremist proselytisation. The proliferation of jihadist non-state actors that pose an existential threat to Shia communities in Pakistan in recent years is a testament to this. In this way, the process bypasses state institutions to induce bottom-up, communal ‘othering’

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