301207 Transregional Politics, Authoritarian Practices, and Securitization (S) (WiSe 2026/2027)

Recent cycles of polarization or seemingly irreconcilable antagonisms have characterized global tendencies of authoritarian practices within democratic systems. In contrast to conventional forms of authoritarianism as a regime type, we are witnessing transregionally intertwined authoritarian practices that are neither limited to electoral struggles nor to the nation-state. Although the state plays a vital role in shaping such practices, the policies and contexts that influence them are not limited by state borders. Not only national parliaments but also international institutions are sidelined and supranational agreements stalled or canceled. Especially in the Western Hemisphere, government discourses and actions on national security threats are reshuffling international relations. The narrative triad of terrorism/drugs/borders has become a common political tool to push for international diplomatic pressure and militarized interventions. Whenever one concept is narratively constructed, it activates the other two and triggers vast political possibilities of a state of emergency. In this panorama, the securitization of drug policy plays a significant role in current transregional politics.

Anti-narcotics campaigns have always triggered broader securitized politics, merging non-state and state actors into unclear, arbitrary targets. For example, the U.S. government’s accusations of “narco-terrorism” have justified military interventions in Latin American countries for many years, emulating imperialist and colonialist dynamics.

This interdisciplinary seminar explores the reach and theoretical robustness of the ideas on authoritarian practices in international relations. After an introduction to the theoretical lens (authoritarian practices in transregional politics), we will explore two subthemes: First, we focus on the processes of militarization and their relationship to securitization. Second, we examine power asymmetries in regional drug policy processes in Latin America. The overall empirical reference of all sessions is the current geopolitical shift in the Americas.