How war becomes possible? : The Bush administration and its securitization of Iraq

Abstract

This thesis examines the 2003 US-Iraq war in order to provide an explanation regarding how the war became possible. Also, the thesis provides an insight into the outbreak of the war through the lens of securitization theory and how the United States (US) framed Iraq as a security threat which resulted in the authorization of emergency measures (war). This thesis is not about why the US-Iraq war happened or the motivations surrounding the invasion. In addition to how the war became possible, the study looks at how the war became legitimized by a broader public and how the use of force became the only course of action against Iraq. The thesis argues that the successful securitization of Iraq made possible/provided conditions of possibility for going to war.