Part I International Law and Global Security, Ch.4 Transnationalization of Security »
Tilmann Altwicker
From: The Oxford Handbook of the International Law of Global Security
Edited By: Robin Geiß, Nils Melzer
This chapter explains how ‘security’ is in a process of ‘transnationalization’, namely it is becoming a cross-border issue. Thus, in the twenty-first century, the primary examples of sources of ‘insecurity’—such as transnational terrorism, transnational crime, mass migration, cross-border environmental hazards, and problems of energy security—are no longer perceived as ‘domestic affairs’. The ensuing processes of transnationalization are naturally also processes of transnationalization of and by international law. The chapter then analyses three major framings used for the transnationalization of security, namely, ‘war’, ‘crime’, and ‘risk’ and their conceptualization in international law. It discusses the two major challenges faced in the transnationalization of security by international law: the problem of jurisdictional dysfunctionalities under international law and the problem of applying international human rights law to transnational security cases. Finally, the chapter evaluates the contribution of international law to the process of the transnationalization of security.