The European Union as Security Actor of a New Type

The present world accommodates an unprecedented number of relevant global and regional actors. Threats are complex and their agents often non-state entities. An effective security actorness thus often requires measures beyond possibilities of individual nations. The book examines the extent to which the European Union represents an effective instrument through which the Member States can pool their military and non-military resources in order to fight terrorism, trans-national organized crime, cyber threats and other dangers. Evaluation of the mechanisms at the European Unions disposal, and of actions that it has taken, allows us to determine whether the EU has become a security sector of a new type, an agent capable of using a variety of soft and hard power means to increase security of its members.