Aprendizajes de un intento de securitización fallida en la Amazonía: el caso de la OTCA, 2023

Carlos del Río; Xira Ruiz-Campillo

doi:10.36151/REDI.76.2.4

Authors

Carlos del Río Programa de doctorado en Ciencias Políticas y de la Administración y Relaciones Internacionales UCM
Xira Ruiz-Campillo Instituto Complutense de Estudios Internacionales (ICEI) y profesora Contratada Doctora en el Dpto. de Relaciones Internacionales e Historia Global, UCM

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.36151/REDI.76.2.4

Keywords:

securitization, Amazon, Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization, environment, climate change

Abstract

This paper looks into the securitization attempt of the Amazon by president Gustavo Petro during the IV Summit of the Amazon’s Cooperation Treaty Organization (August 2023). The authors apply the Securitization Theory by Buzan Wæver and de Wilde (1998), in which a referent object under significant or existential threat, a securitizing actor and a securitizing move in favour of securitizing said threat in front of a relevant audience are identified. The paper concludes that this has been a failed attempt at securitization and identifies the most likely reason of its failure, namely the lack of trust in militarization as a solution to environmental issues. Also, we point to the need of trust amongst the parts of any securitization attempt in the region susceptible of being successful.