ABSTRACT
The legitimacy and effectiveness of the existing architecture for internal security, therefore, has increasingly become subject to public debate and contestation. ‘European security’ most commonly refers to the handling of ‘traditional’ security threats, such as military conflicts and great power relations in Europe. Political philosophy tells that the provision of domestic security is the core legitimation for the modern state. Thomas Hobbes drew on the experience of civil war and argued for a central ‘Leviathan’ that protects each individual against a permanent state of violence. The resulting rich tapestry of networks and institutional frameworks for internal security cooperation does not necessarily translate into positive policy outcomes. Transnational policy forums, or ‘integration by stealth’, thus reach their limits when faced with open contention in national democratic publics. The rise of globalisation has challenged such clear-cut understandings, while threats of organised crime and terrorism have long been a transnational concern.
