ABSTRACT
The bloody attacks against the United States (11 September 2001), Spain (11 March 2004) and the UK (7 July 2005) have made the anti-terrorist fight a priority for all Western leaders. Since then governments have demonstrated an unswerving determination and have outlined proposals to reorganize security forces that are now called upon to cooperate more efficiently in the fight against radical Islam. At the same time, new structures of cooperation, exchange and prevention have either emerged in the main international institutions (EU, UN) or have intensified their activity. The ‘emergency’ and the ‘magnitude’ of this ‘new threat’ have strengthened the role of intelligence services. They are seen as capable of preventing the consequences of what would be publicly called ‘hyper-terrorism’, ‘new terror networks’ or ‘messianic terrorism’. Numerous legislative measures have been taken to facilitate their work and to weaken the juridical rules framing it.
