This book examines the language of the European Union's response to the threat of terrorism. Since its re-emergence in the wake of the September 11 attacks, the 'fight against terrorism' has come to represent a priority area of action for the EU. Drawing on interpretive approaches to international relations, the book outlines a discourse theory of identity and counter-terrorism policy, showing how the 'fight against terrorism' structures the EU's response through the prism of identity, drawing our attention to the various 'others' that have come to form the target of counter-terrorism policy. Through an extensive analysis of the wider societal impact of the 'fight against terrorism' discourse, the various ways in which this policy is contributing to the 'securitisation' of social and political life within Europe are revealed.

This book contributes to the understanding of the counter-terrorism (CT) policy of the European Union (EU) by offering a set of analyses focusing on its external dimension. Whilst calling for the combination of internal and external policies as well as cooperation with third countries and international institutions, the external dimension of EUCT challenges previous assumptions on the functioning of the EU and offers new testing ground for the latest theoretical and methodological approaches. This volume provides the first systematic assessment of the external dimension of EUCT. It covers transatlantic counter-terrorism cooperation, the interaction between EU institutions and policies, theoretical debates on EU actorness in counter-terrorism and the role of judicial institutions in international counter-terrorism. Furthermore, it draws attention to the need for engaging in new discussions over the post-Lisbon Treaty Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), the international fight against terrorism, and the way international actors cooperate and compete on the security arena. It will be of interest for both academics and practitioners working on EU foreign policy, transatlantic relations and international counter-terrorism. It will also be of interest for students and journalists specialized on European and international affairs. This book was published as a special issue of European Security.

The Treaty on the European Union stipulates that one of the key objectives of the Union is to provide citizens with a high level of safety within an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. Given that the fight against terrorism is a prominent aspect of this general objective, it is remarkable that, in spite of its political relevance and decade-long history, it has only relatively recently received due attention in the academic community. Yet an analysis of the successes and failures of the EU's involvement in this field is imperative and this is a particularly pertinent moment to take stock of progress. The goal of this book is therefore to look back at the post-9/11 period and answer the question of whether, when it comes to the measures taken to combat terrorism following these attacks, the EU has lived up to the promise made in its founding treaties. In pursuing this goal, this volume presents the views of leading experts casting a critical eye over the EU's performance, recognising achievements but also being suitably critical when the realities did not match the European rhetoric. In doing this, the book makes a significant contribution not only to the scholarly investigation of European Union policies, but also to the study of counter-terrorism in general. This book was published as a special issue of Intelligence and National Security.

The book examines the dynamic of West European terrorism and counter-terrorism as it has evolved since the late 1960s. It assesses past, present and future terrorist trends and analyzes the internal security policies that have been initiated by the member states of the European Union (EU), both singularly and collectively, to combat terrorism in Western Europe. Throughout the book the theme of liberal democratic legitimacy and accountability is stressed, something that is brought particularly to bear on the latest EU internal security provision - the Maastricht Third Pillar.

Of individual sanctions could comply with general principles of EU law. Readership: Academics, graduate students, and practitioners interested in sanctions against individuals.

Although there is a vast body of literature covering the ongoing debates concerning the novelty and gravity of the contemporary terrorist threat, as well as the most appropriate response to it, few authors have thus far analysed the complex set of counterterrorism measures that both the individual Member States and the European Union (EU) have attempted to develop. This volume offers a critical analysis of the measures the European Union has taken to combat terrorism and how, in a number of key areas, EU counterterrorism policy is more of a paper tiger than an effective counterterrorism device. Several legal EU counterterrorism instruments have not been properly implemented at the national level and questions have been raised regarding their effectiveness, appropriateness, and proportionality. The capabilities of EU agencies in the area of counterterrorism remain rather weak and the EU Counterterrorism Coordinator does not have any real powers apart from persuasion. However, this does not mean that EU level action cannot offer any value-added in the fight against terrorism. There are several areas where the EU can provide genuine value-added in the fight against terrorism due to the transnational nature of the contemporary terrorist threat and the nature of a “borderless” Europe.

This book traces the evolution of the EU’s fight against terrorism from the late 1970s until the end of the first decade after 9/11. This historical analysis covers both EU-internal and international counterterrorism policies and features an in-depth account of the EU’s reaction to the terrorist incidents in New York, Madrid and London. In the first few weeks after these incidents, the EU mobilised a complex but also incoherent set of policy measures, which significantly influenced the course of European security over the years. From a theoretical perspective, this volume argues that context-specific factors dominated over functionalist considerations in the EU’s fight against terrorism. Building on frameworks from public policy analysis, the author demonstrates that EU institutions played a critical role as policy entrepreneurs, while the many security measures were chosen on the basis of timing rather than significance. Such short-term political dynamics also explain the implementation deficits and persistent imbalances in the EU’s counterterrorism policy; limitations which still hinder its fight against international terrorism. This book will be of much interest to students of EU policy, counter-terrorism, European security, public administration, foreign policy, and IR in general.