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Constructivist theories of securitization are built on a foundation of communicative action tenets. While this represents an important and innovative advance in international relations theory, securitization ignores some of the components involved in a successful communicative act. Williams (2003) calls for securitization theory to incorporate the hitherto ignored effects of mass media and in this paper we answer this call. We first show that securitization's specification of leaders' speech acts and audiences' legitimative discourse presumes mass media actors are indifferent in how they convey leader representations and justifications of crises. We take this presumption as an empirical question and execute a study of whether the national presses of ally countries differently emphasized the frames Bush invoked in their news coverage of key September 11th speeches. We show from comparisons of chi-square distributions and regression analyses that, far from being passive conveyers of speech frames, the national presses of the US, Canada, France, Britain and Ireland (1) did not convey all of Bush's securitizing problem representations and response justifications proportionate to the extent Bush invoked them in his speeches, and (2) that for each national press factors based on professional norms and/or organizational routines increased the likelihood that a speech sentence would be conveyed in a news story. We discuss the implications of our findings for how securitization theory should conceptualize media actors when redressing this gap in its explanatory models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Civil or homeland security provides an interesting case for the study of norms transmission. The ‘norm-takers’ in these cases are often officials in cities or arms of government not typically responsible for foreign policy or defence: transportation, civil infrastructure protection, and emergency management. These levels and branches of government are not an obvious site for international relations and security policy, but they have become the focus of policy for preventing and responding to terrorism. However, there is some precedent for civil security norms penetrating arms of government not typical seen to be engaged in international security: the civil defence policies of the cold war. I apply Amitav Acharya’s idea of norm localization, whereby local norms-takers engage in a dynamic process of interaction to adapt local and transnational norms to match each other, to civil security. How do local officials localize regional and global anti-terrorism norms to environments where global security is a new priority, but which already have well-established norms for dealing with natural disasters, crime, and other emergencies? The literature on norms diffusion typically posits a trickle-down effect, with transnational norms-entrepreneurs generating norms to be implemented domestically. But in this situation where local actors possess expertise in emergency response, is there evidence of a trickle-up effect, with local practice influencing regional or international norms? This paper will also contribute to the literature on the life-cycle of norms because it will focus on a case where localization may include re-invigorating the dormant norms of civil defence. Empirically, the paper will examine Canadian civil security policy, with a focus on the all-hazards norm for responding to emergencies. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After 9-11, the United States underwent the most significant restructuring of its national security architecture since the end of World War II. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the National Security Act of 1947 both led to the creation of new Cabinet-level Departments and the merging of many federal agencies into new organizational structures to deal with the new threats and security challenges to the United States. The Department of Defense also underwent significant changes with the creation of a completely new Unified Command, U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), chartered with providing the military response to Homeland Defense. Within NORTHCOM, there is a new challenge of expanding regional security cooperation beyond the traditional bilateral relations with Canada under the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD), to now include Mexico under the concept of ?perimeter defense? of the Northern Hemisphere against the threat of terrorism. Yet, such an expansion of mission and security cooperation between the United States, Mexico, and Canada involves many complex issues concerning ?regional governance? and the formation of new security relationships between all three nations. This paper will address Mexican challenges to cooperate with the US and Canada and the dilemmas in the construction of a new regional security perimeter. ..PAT.-Conference Proceeding [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]