THE CHANGING NATURE OF SECURITY THREATS IN EUROPE: TERROR-ISM AS THE MAIN SECURITY CONCERN FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION (EU)

Abstract

The end of the Cold War brought an end to the nuclear  threat but it brought with it the unconventional kinds of security threats. This paper makes an attempt to investigate and understand the changes in the nature of threat in Europe, mainly the threat of terrorism. After the 9/11 attacks in the US and the following attacks in Madrid, London, France, Brussels and Nice, terrorism has become the most formidable security concern for the European Union (EU). The study also tried to draw a link between the EUs Internal and External security strategy in the face of growing challenges from terrorism, with a discussion on the European Security Strategy (ESS) of 2003. The 2003 European Security Strategy (ESS) was one of the first document and a roadmap to address the new security challenges of Europe. The ESS for the first time identified five chief threats to the EU and listed Terrorism as the most pressing threat followed by the proliferation of WMD (3), Regional conflicts, State failure and Organised crime. The paper will also discuss a review of the ESS, through the Report of the Implementation of the European Security Strategy (RIESS) 2008. The paper will also examine briefly the relationship between terrorism and globalisation. It will explore the different views about these issues. Though the process of globalisation holds credibility toward the issues of developing nations and resolving universal issues such as alleviating global poverty and illiteracy, terrorism has also become a global phenomenon after the 9/11 incident.