Reinforcing Societal Resilience through Securitization

In addition to the various crises and social transformations, Estonian society faces security risks that threaten its independence and societal resilience. Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine has raised the issue of security and securitization in geopolitically intense regions. The project aims to study and explain the securitization process at various levels and in various domains of society by combining theoretical and methodological approaches from sociology, media and communication, and computer science and develop the sociological approach to securitization. The securitization may mobilize different groups and resources, i.e. to strengthen the societal resilience; on the other hand, it can lead to the growth of destabilizing forces within the society and trigger the processes of militarization, radicalization and polarization. The practical objective is to contribute to the prevention of negative aspects of securitization and to support societal resilience.