Against security: protectionism and what's left of politics

Journal article

The specter of security is haunting politics. In “north” and “south,” on left and right, security is replacing neoliberalism as a dominant political logic. Despite a wealth of securitization studies, we have not yet fully grasped this shift and its political ramifications. Here we consider security's rise to dominance in three contexts: first, the “postsocialist transition” in Latvia and the demise of Soviet socialism, which facilitated the wider neoliberal takeover; second, Swedish social democracy, which soon succumbed; and third, Anglo-Saxon university culture, where many of the resultant political struggles have played out. In all cases, a form of security “protectionism” stepped in as a solution to neoliberal malaise: yet in practice it has offered an even more far-reaching shift in power relations than neoliberalism before it.

Authors: Andersson, R; Dzenovska, D

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Berghahn Journals
• Journal: Focaal
• Volume: 105
• Pages: 104–118
• Publication date: 2026-06-01
• Acceptance date: 2025-06-10
• DOI: 10.3167/fcl.2026.1050109
• EISSN: 1558-5263
• ISSN: 0920-1297
• Language: English
• Keywords: Latvia; neoliberalism; postsocialism; protectionism; security; safety; Sweden