The Securitization of Homosexuality in Uganda. The relationship between the securitizing actor and the audience in the process of securitization.

Abstract: This study adds to the extensive body of research concerning different aspects of the Securitization Theory formulated by Buzan, Waever and de Wilde in Security: A New Framework for Analysis (1998) and focus on the theoretically underdeveloped relationship between the securitizing actor and the audience. The case studied is the securitization of homosexuality in Uganda with the proposal of the “Anti Homosexuality Bill” and the material is gathered from three online newspapers and parliamentary debates. Inspired by Skinner’s concept of normative language I hold that, to be accepted, the securitizing move needs to be formulated in resonance with the discursively constructed frames of the normative language of the audience. To test this hypothesis I use Hansen’s method for poststructural discourse analysis to compare the representations of homosexuality and Ugandan identity of the discourses held up by the securitizing actor and the relevant audiences. The results imply that the audiences affect the securitizing actor during the entire process and that the acceptance is conditioned to how well the securitizing actor relates to the normative language of the audiences. It is argued that an inclusion of the importance of historical discourses would contribute to a better understanding of why issues get securitized.