Food ‘Securitization’ and the Climate Crisis: Lessons from the EU Response to the War in Ukraine

Abstract The consequences of securitization—the elevation of ‘normal’ policy matters into the security realm—on policy processes and outcomes can be profound. Within the European Union (EU), securitization can shift the division of competence between the EU and the Member States, as national security remains a Member State prerogative. Moreover, securitization can affect the explicit and implicit hierarchy between potentially clashing policy goals. This article considers the effects of securitization of European agri-food policy since the start of the war in Ukraine. These experiences provide important insights into the interaction between securitization and renationalization of competence, and the effects of policy goal prioritization within EU agri-food policy, also as the climate crisis increasingly threatens food security, leading to a potential clash between short and long-term food security goals.