TITLE: The securitisation of the United Kingdom’s maritime infrastructure during the ‘war on terror’.

Two primary research questions frame my work:

1) How has the United Kingdom's maritime infrastructure been securitised in the context of responses to international terrorism?
2) What has been the impact of securitisation on the management of UK maritime infrastructure?

Engaging with and contributing towards debates about how security is conceptualised and understood, the thesis utilises the securitisation approach as conceived by the Copenhagen School to frame an in-depth and up-to-date case study on attempts to 'secure' maritime infrastructure (ports and harbours) in the United Kingdom in the context of responses to international terrorism.

The research makes an original contribution on three main levels. First, it tackles concerns academics have raised against the analytical value of the securitisation approach by showing how it has the potential for genuine concrete applications relating to the most pressing and timely issues of national politics in the sphere of counter-terrorist legislation. Second, it embraces a constructivist approach to security studies as a means of analysing the impact of the ‘war on terror’ on security discourse in the United Kingdom. Third, it provides a diverse user community of both academics and practitioners with an analysis of the policies that have been introduced in relation to maritime infrastructure security.

UK maritime infrastructure is chosen as the case study for this thesis because of its prominent position as part of the global supply chain, UK transport network and UK border, enabling the thesis to engage with a range of interesting wider debates on security.