Deconstructing Security Discourse in Circular Economy Governance : Towards an Inclusive Approach to Circular Transformation

Global environmental challenges, coupled with growing material resource consumption, are exacerbated by an increasingly hostile geopolitical environment and the securitisation of politics. The circular economy (CE) proposes a solution to address these challenges by transforming production and consumption systems, which has sparked significant interest in the concept among scholars, policymakers, and businesses. Meanwhile, the directionality of this transformative change depends on political priorities in multiple socio-economic contexts, which can be affected by geopolitical considerations and security concerns. Drawing on a conceptual background from environmental studies, sustainability transition, innovation, and critical security studies, this thesis explores the role of security discourse in shaping prioritisation among circular solutions to sustainability challenges and explains the connections between security discourse and implications of circular transformation. Conceptual results include a typology of circular solutions for resource security, a typology of security discourses in CE, and a framework of geopolitical implications of the circular transformation. Furthermore, the thesis provides empirical evidence of the effects of the security discourse on circular transformation at the national, regional, and global levels. These results can help future CE studies relate conceptually to security and broaden the spectrum of applicable solutions. Moreover, the developed frameworks can be used to evaluate the security and geopolitical implications of circular policies and initiatives, inform political debates, and support marginalised circular solutions to ensure an inclusive circular transformation.