The Idea of an Iraqi Threat: A Constructivist Analysis of George W. Bushs Securitizing Move After 9/11

Abstract

Existing literature explaining the origin of the Iraq War is often either not sufficiently compatible with securitization theorys assumptions or overlooks the importance of the dynamics preceding the securitization attempt. This article thus seeks to explain why George W. Bush decided to securitize Saddam Husseins Iraq by focusing on an individual level analysis of the U.S. president. The article utilizes Roxanna Sjöstedts framework that includes the analysis of the idea diffusion process, identities as potential facilitators of idea acceptance and beliefs that affect the individual internalization of the said idea. The results show that all three factors were decisive for the securitization of Iraq to occur. Furthermore, they suggest the implication that individual-level factors also have significant and independent explanatory value in addition to more conventional system-level analyses of international security.