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Securitization and European Democracy Policy

Current geopolitical trends are pushing the EU to increasingly prioritize security in its international action and outreach, including on democracy policy. The EU should ensure that this democracy-security nexus develops around a pervasive democratic security culture. Current geopolitical trends have pushed the EU toward an altered perspective on international politics, including its interests and place in the global disorder. This change comprises multiple elements that together denote a dynamic of securitization. We disaggregate this dynamic and consider one very specific implication of it: what securitization in EU foreign policy means for democracy and democracy-support policies. This article contends that European securitization is simultaneously problematic and galvanizing for democracy policy.