Securitization Politics: A Critical Appraisal of China’s Energy and Climate Politics

Abstract

This article unfolds recent academic debates encircling securitization of energy and climate in China. There have been heated debates about the benefits and implications of securitization of energy and climate in non-western settings. Potential issues of linking environmental problems with ‘security’ have been identified as the immediate concern, and the focus has turned in particular to energy and climate in securitization debate. However, it is not long ago that China has become the epicenter of this debate. In spite of conventional deadlock over climate change as a driver of national security, its security implications have been significantly acknowledged in Chinese official discourse in the last couple of years. The Chinese understanding of climate issue has undergone significant transformation from climate as a development issue to security issue primarily because of its economic shift towards a ‘new normal.’ Why­ did China change its approach invites research inquiry. This paper is designed to explore how the securitization of energy and climate in China has served various objectives of Chinese government including socioeconomic development and the legitimacy of reestablishing control by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). China’s experience presents a unique case from the usual practices of securitization as climate and energy security is linked to political objectives. It is evident from Chinese case that though majority of political phenomenon do not require audience approval, energy and climate security encourage latent types of participation both by the citizens and experts. So, non-democratic nations are equally open and feasible for securitization.