Moving towards Securitization : How the Paris Attacks were Used to Justify Extraordinary Measures

Abstract: In January 2015, three terrorists killed 17 people in Paris. In a time in which fears of immigrants and Muslims are spread in Europe and right wing movements are gaining support, this event built a foundation for actors of centre right and right wing parties to use the attacks in their favor. The aim of this study was to investigate how French and German media reported on the attacks, which measures were suggested in response to the attacks by political actors and how media facilitated possible securitization moves. By conducting this case study for which French and German newspaper articles were collected through the database Lexis Nexis and analyzed through content and discourse analysis, a contribution to security studies was made. The analytical framework used, Securitization Theory with an integration of Framing Theory, proved valuable as it indicated that media, by framing the issues connected to the Paris Attacks in favor of securitizing actors, facilitated securitization moves. Securitizing actors were mainly centre right politicians in Germany and the French right wing party National Front. Furthermore, German newspaper articles on the attacks outnumbered French newspaper articles, indicating the high level of media attention to the key event. However, the role of Islam was mentioned in more French newspaper articles than it was the case in German newspapers. Overall, terrorism and Islam were portrayed as a threat to the referent objects of the West, its citizens and values, fostering an essentialist and dichotomist understanding of the West and Islam.