Insecurity is What States Make of It: U.S. Securitization of China

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to investigate and analyze the process of securitization from the United States (US) to China and the dangers it poses to regional security in the Asia Pacific. It is argued that securitization, understood as a process in which a danger is identified and designated as an existential threat to an object of reference that justifies the adoption of extreme measures to protect it, is driving the bilateral relationship between Washington and Beijing towards a direct confrontation. The key to understanding this phenomenon lies in identifying how U.S. security visions (which define the interpretive framework through which perceived dangers are identified and reacted to) shape policies toward China (seen as a threat to the international order) and how these measures are worsening the security dynamics between the two powers. Therefore, the text examines why this attitude is capable of generating an armed conflict with the Asian country: the desire to show firmness reduces the options available to China in response to the growing diplomatic rapprochement of the US with Taiwan, as evidenced by its recent behavior towards the island in 2022 and 2023.