The actorness of the European Union in the fight against terrorism: How Critical Junctures drive Securitization

The present dissertation has been entitled “The actorness of the European Union in the fight against terrorism”. The purpose consists in filling the gap in the literature by studying why, when, and how the European Union established actorness in counter-terrorism. The merit namely consists in establishing a paradigm founded on the nexus between Securitization and Critical Junctures to establish what tools have been created by the European Union to conduct counter-terrorism. The present dissertation found that the European Union conducted the Securitization of counterterrorism following events that constitute Critical Junctures and that the Securitization of counter-terrorism follows the Counter-Terrorism Cycle. The conclusion evaluates counter-terrorism pursued by the European Union, its strengths and weaknesses, explains the consequences of the Counter-Terrorism Cycle, and questions the pertinence of the paradigm, while also proposing follow-ups.