Securitization theory, proposed by the Copenhagen School in 1998, argues that states characterize threats from specific actors as an existential threat to gain public attention to rationalize retaliatory actions. The roots of this theory can be traced to Barry Buzan’s book “People, State and Fear”. It justifies actors to adopt retaliation against a particular group. After the September 11 attacks in 2001, a wave of counter-terrorism started, formally known as the global war on terror, in which the whole world was on the same page to condemn terrorism in all of its forms.

Securitization theory, rooted in Barry Buzan’s work, explains how states justify exceptional actions by framing actors as existential threats.

The United States’ post-9/11 counter-terrorism campaigns have raised concerns about their impact on global stability and the sovereignty of targeted states. Jeffery Sachs, the author of “A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism,” critiques those American policies that were adopted by neo-conservatives during the various administrations. He also emphasized on many occasions that actions taken by the US in the name of counter-terrorism were to fulfill its strategic objectives in the region. For example, the US invasion of Iraq was justified as it had weapons of mass destruction, but in reality, the US wanted to overthrow the regime of Saddam. The Pew Research Center conducted a poll in 2019, and the majority of American veterans said that the war in Iraq was not worth fighting, but it was to achieve the objective of ousting Saddam’s regime.

In the Middle East, there was a series of overthrows of regimes that were threatening the existence of Israel in the region, accomplished by the US. Jeffery Sachs has emphasized in his article that the US president Barack Obama ordered the CIA to overthrow the regime of Bashar al-Assad under a billion-dollar Operation Timber Sycamore, a covert operation. He said that it was the pro-Israel lobby groups that compelled the US to overthrow these regimes and disturbed the peace of the Middle East.

Through weaponizing securitization, the US has dismantled the sovereignty and peace of several countries by overthrowing their regimes, overtly or covertly. A wide misperception is prevailing that the US is the largest promoter of democracy and liberal values, but in reality, its strategic interests force the US to overthrow the democratically elected leaders. The credit for exposing the hypocrisy and duality of the US goes to Wikileaks, which has released millions of documents exposing the US war crimes, corruption, and CIA surveillance tools. The famous footage of shooting journalists and some civilians during the Iraq War was an astonishing disclosure of American war crimes in Iraq by WikiLeaks.

Jeffery Sachs critiques US foreign policy as driven by neo-conservative and pro-Israel interests, using counter-terrorism to mask regime change goals.

These misadventures of the US foreign policy have shaped the global political discourse very much as nation states across the world started counter terrorism operations to pursue their national objectives. According to the UNHR report of 10 October 2024, Israel is committing war crimes in Gaza by attacking the healthcare and violating the children’s rights to life by denying them basic healthcare.

The Israeli government is accused of mass murder of oppressed Palestinian children under the guise of counter terrorism operations against Hamas. This counter-terrorism operation gave them a license to commit genocide against innocent people to defend themselves. The mass murder of innocent Palestinians is serving the long-term strategic objective of Israel in Gaza. The securitization is a weapon that provides a license and justifies the mass murder of innocent people. The constructed security threat is weaponized to achieve strategic objectives.

India, a country having very close ties with both of the states, the US and Israel, is implementing the securitization in countering Pakistan. Indian officials often blame Pakistan for harboring terrorists inside the country. For quite some decades, India has breached the sovereignty of Pakistan at a regular interval of four to five years. The recent Pahalgam Attack was attributed by Indian officials a state-sponsored terrorism originating from Pakistan. In response to this attack, India launched Operation Sindoor.

Israel’s actions in Gaza, framed as counter-terrorism, are condemned by the UNHR (2024) for war crimes and systematic attacks on civilians.

The US and Israel, both countries, have so far applied retaliatory measures of dismantling sovereignty under asymmetric environments. But in this case, India failed to weaponize the securitization as Pakistan launched a retaliatory strike through Operation Bunyan Marsoos. Instead of breaching each other’s sovereignty, committing genocide, and regime change, there are diplomatic channels that can be utilized to counter terrorism. The counter terrorism measures leading to civilian casualties should be condemned.

There needs to be a collective and transparent response against terrorism while ensuring the safety and security of civilians first. Social media has played a crucial role in identifying the true perpetrators of mass murder and those who advocate chaos over peace for their volatile objectives. International Organizations should also play their role in countering terrorism by ensuring peace, not chaos, worldwide. The newly developed norm of weaponizing the securitization must be condemned to ensure global peace and stability.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.