On the 19th of March the United Nations Security Council voted on favour of resolution 1973 (2011), authorizing the International Community to take the necessary means and protect the civil population in Libya. A Franco British leadership, headed the initiative for concrete measures on Gaddafi’s regime, which had been violating Human Rights after protests began on the 16th of February, 2011 in Benghazi.

This thesis aims to examine French policy, between the period in which the protests began in Libya and the day the UN resolution 1973 was approved, to analyze the steps taken towards the military intervention. It looks into the theory chosen to understand the French Leadership justifications for pressuring the International Community towards the military intervention. The main concerns analyzed are the security arguments that French Leadership used to raise the situation to a level of security.

The thesis uses as framework for analysis, the Copenhagen School Theory. It aims to help the understanding of the process engaged in by those actors who claim and approve security issues.