The EU Security Continuum: Blurring Internal and External Security

This book explores how internal and external security are blurring at the EU level and the implications this has for EU security governance and the EU as a security actor. It argues that the EU needs a more integrated approach to managing transboundary security threats, but institutional turf wars and capability silos hinder this. The book proposes a novel conceptual framework, the EU security continuum, to examine how internal and external security are blurring along three axes and suggests that the EU's pursuit of an integrated approach is reframing its claimed normative distinctiveness toward a more practical one.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 230 pages
Publication date: 31 May 2023
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

The European Union (EU) asserts that internal and external security are intertwined and necessitate a more comprehensive approach. This book critically evaluates this assertion in the context of the EU's threats, responses, and practical and normative implications for EU security governance and its role as a security actor. It presents a novel conceptual framework, the EU security continuum, to examine how internal and external security are blurring along three axes: geographic, bureaucratic, and functional. This analysis is conducted through an examination of four key security issues: regional conflict, terrorism, organized crime, and cybersecurity. The book demonstrates that these security threats and/or responses do transcend boundaries, to varying degrees. However, institutional turf wars and capability silos hinder the EU's integrated approach and its management of transboundary security threats. Nonetheless, the EU's pursuit of an integrated approach is reshaping its claimed normative distinctiveness towards a more practical one, based on a transnational and multidimensional approach. If implemented, this rearticulation would transform the EU into a genuine transboundary security actor, properly structured and equipped to address the challenges of the 21st-century internal-external security continuum.

This book holds significant appeal to students of European Security, EU Politics, and International Relations. It offers valuable insights into the evolving dynamics of EU security, the complexities of managing transboundary security threats, and the EU's efforts to establish itself as a proactive and influential security actor on the global stage.

Weight: 453g
Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781032054292