CONTEMPORARY EURASIA VOLUME VII (1, 2) Contemporary-Eurasia-3new | Page 24

CONTEMPORARY EURASIA
the extreme level of politicization which circulates a problem as a “secu-
rity threat”. 6 In Buzan’s explanation “security is a self-referential practice
because it is in this practice that the issue becomes a security issue – not
necessarily because of a real existential threat but because the issue is pre-
sented as such a threat”. 7 In this framework the key questions are – how the
ruling elites (securitizing actor) design a problem and how they deliver it
to the public (audience), what techniques they use to pursue people that the
problem is a direct threat to their safety and why society’s support is vital to
eliminate a particular threat. 8 This process is called “speech act” serving as
a tool to mobilize and unify people for handling a specifi c issue. 9
Although the literature covers the process and outcome of securitiza-
tion in diff erent cases, there is little evidence how securitization works
in the post-Soviet countries, which are dissatisfi ed with the status quo
and seeking public mobilization in order to challenge the existing order.
Therefore, the research would be based on the constructivist approach in
order to investigate how the concept of securitization works in the South
Caucasus region, particularly in the Republic of Azerbaijan.
What is military doctrine? Managing uncertainty.
If security is a desirable end for any country, military doctrine (MD) is
a toolbox to achieve it. It is considered as one of the most important na-
tional security documents containing the elements of planning, prediction
of war and preparation of army for combat operations. It is directed to the
management of uncertainty based on military research and analysis in or-
der to defi ne mechanisms to achieve national security objectives. 10 Posen
identifi es three main types of doctrine – off ensive, defensive and deter-
rent. 11 He opposes the Clausewitz’s notion that “defense is the stronger
form of war”, stating that “off ensive posture of document allows to con-
duct a certain plan and strategy and is more effi cient in terms of reducing
uncertainties”. 12 Defensive doctrines, on the other hand, concentrate more
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
Ibid; McDonald, Securitization and the Construction of Security, 4; Elif Uzgoren, “Explain-
ing social constructivist contributions to security studies.” METU Conference on Internation-
al Relations, 7(3), (2006): 27-48.
Buzan, Waever and Wilde, Security.
Balzacq, et al., Securitization revisited, 518; Buzan, et al., Security; McDonald, Securitiza-
tion and the Construction of Security. Holger Stritzel, “Towards a Theory of Securitization:
Copenhagen and Beyond,” European Journal of International Relations, 13(3), (2007): 357-
383.
Buzan, et al., Security.
Barry Posen, “Foreword: Military doctrine and the management of uncertainty,” Journal of
Strategic Studies 39, no. 2 (2016): 159-173; Paul Latawski, “The Inherent Tensions in Mil-
itary Doctrine,” Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, (2011); Brinthon Holley, “Technology
and Military Doctrine,” (Air University Press, 2004).
Posen, “Foreword: Military,” 172.
Ibid., 164.
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