Syrian refugees in Canada? Interpretation and judgement in the political production of security threats
Date
2017-08-22
Authors
Singh, Jessica
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
What are we to understand by the term ‘security’ in international relations? This thesis explores the theoretical foundations of security risks and threats in modern politics. Taking Thomas Hobbes and Michel Foucault as the paradigmatic theorists of modern political power, this thesis explains security as an inherently contingent and contextual phenomenon, intertwined and embedded in socio-historical discourses. Each of the three chapters explain how security manifests and operates as a type of discourse (discursive formation) under sovereignty, working to achieve particular social, political, and epistemological ends. The practical focus of this project is a case study analysis of the Canadian Liberal Government’s #WelcomeRefugees project, a government assisted resettlement project for displaced victims of the Syrian civil war. Drawing on the example of the case study, this thesis investigates the underlying political, historical, and theoretical conditions which mobilize and inform modern political regimes of security and risk management.
Description
Keywords
refugees, Syrian civil war, Judgement, Security, Risk management, Canada