ABSTRACT
The security threat posed by international terrorism is very different to that which dominated transatlantic relations during the Cold War. The USSR and its Warsaw Pact allies presented an overarching military threat that put at risk the territorial integrity of Western Europe. This justified European dependence on the United States, for no other country had the ability to counterbalance the Soviet Union. By contrast, the threat from international terrorism is much more diffuse: the enemy is shadowy and a simple military response is inappropriate. The fact that the risks are difficult to calculate has contributed to disagreement between the two sides of the Atlantic. It is ironic that whilst common threat perceptions used to underpin the transatlantic relationship during the Cold War, they risk dividing them today.
