The Written Word as Securitization Practice: Analysis of the Evolution of French Nationality Law
This article analyzes the role legislative texts play in the identity process in France by examining the evolution of French nationality legislation since the passage of the 2003 law on immigration control, the residence of foreign nationals in France, and nationality. It shows that legislation, through its written dimension and the legitimizing framework of the state, has played a role both in instigating and finalizing the securitization process. Our examination of the situation in which the four laws amending the rights and conditions of French citizenship (2001, 2006, 2007, 2011) were enunciated reveals that securitization operates using mechanisms similar to Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of “symbolic violence,” i.e., by enouncing securitization acts that are not recognized as such by the audience and that consequently legitimize the securitization process.