Fear and Trembling: Perspectives on Security in Europe

The world around us seems increasingly filled with mechanisms to enhance protection and minimise risks yet, paradoxically, the level of fears and anxieties is rising across our societies, with a tendency to fixate on the most sensational, direct, and violent sources of risk. Identifying where the true threats lie is a challenging but crucial enterprise and the Green European Journal contends that progressive forces around Europe need to take the question of security seriously. This edition provides contributions that look beyond today’s politics of fear, towards a politics of hope.

Articles in this edition

01.04.2017
Facing Our Fears

Editorial: In a Europe with a changing political landscape, the future of the Union– and incidentally that of the Greens in 2019 – will be largely played out over the question of security.

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01.04.2017
The Suicide of the Atlantic West

With a shifting global balance of power, former German Foreign Minister and Vice-chancellor Joschka Fischer talks about the EU's role and how it can promote global stability.

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01.04.2017
New Approaches to Fear: A Progressive Response to Islamic State

Is our response to the threat of Islamic State merely aiding their rise by unwittingly contributing to their strategy?

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01.04.2017
The Age of Security Populists

Despite Edward Snowden's revelations of widespread surveillance, increasingly intrusive measures are being adopted in Europe in the name of security - but do these actually lead to a more effective prevention of attacks?

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01.04.2017
An Inside Job: European Societies Need to Look Within to Achieve Real Security

How should Greens respond to the very real sense of insecurity felt by many European citizens today? Four Green leaders from around Europe discuss how a Green security policy might look, and how to communicate it.

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01.04.2017
System Failure: Social and Economic (in)Security in Europe

Why is the spectre of social (in)security haunting Europe despite it being richer than ever before?

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01.04.2017
When “Feeding the World” Puts Food Security at Risk

Are the giants of the agro-industry who claim they are determined to "Feed the world" in fact fostering food insecurity through exploitation and environmental degradation?

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01.04.2017
Security and Identity: Between Fantasy and Reality

France's long and troubled relationship with Islam, and its connexion to a sense of insecurity, is unpacked by Olivier Roy and Esther Benbassa, who also explore the current role of religion in politics in general.

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01.04.2017
The Categorical Mistake of “Looking for an Answer to National Populism”

In the face of rising national populism, rather than seeking to combat these forces on their own terms, Green and progressive politicians can instead turn to a far more effective rhetorical tool.

EN
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01.04.2017
Getting Personal: How Biosecurity Gets Under Our Skin

A review of Frederic Gros's book - The Principal Security - which outlines his increasingly pertinent concept of biosecurity.

EN
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01.04.2017
It’s the Security, Stupid! How Greens Could Shape the EU’s Climate Security Policy

To foster real security in Europe, global environmental factors must be taken into account and integrated into security-building practices.

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01.04.2017
The Baltic Sea Region: “A Tradition of Mistrust” Returns

The Baltic Sea region is a precarious and sensitive area - and increasingly so due to the competing influences and power games playing out between various actors in the region.

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01.04.2017
When Security Means Silence: States of Emergency and Political Protest

The democratic right to political protest faces a two-fold threat: a broadened definition of terrorism alongside an increasingly militarised form of policing, justified by a state of perpetual emergency.

EN
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01.04.2017
The Economics of Fear: How Orbán Profits from Insecurities

By playing upon fears linked to social insecurities and loss of national identity, as well as threats to national security, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán seeks to position himself as the sole protector of his nation.

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01.04.2017
Ring the Alarm? Assessing the Threats to Europe’s Energy Security

Are some of the measures to promote energy security doing more harm than good, by creating a distraction from the real steps needed in light of climate change and increasing instability?

EN
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01.04.2017
Genesis of Fear: The Case of Slovenia

How can we account for the perception among Slovenia’s general population that migrants pose a threat?

EN
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01.04.2017
The Sensible Push for European Security

Treating the current crises effectively shouldn't undermine a long-term effort to cement stability and peace through smart and soft power, through avenues such as international development.

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01.04.2017
Invisible Threats: The Digital Dangers to our Real Lives

New technology developing at breakneck speed has left laws behind and increasingly puts not only our privacy but our immediate safety at risk.

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01.04.2017
Social Policies as Tools to Promote Security

The sense of security in a society is closely bound up with its institutions; the cases of the Nordic countries demonstrate that these feelings of security can be enhanced by fostering inclusive institutions.

EN
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01.04.2017
‘Sweet Dreams and Beautiful Nightmares’: Why Security is a Black and Brown Issue

The term 'security' is used as though it were neutral, but in fact it is underpinned by assumptions and prejudice, with some regarded as worthy of protection while 'others' are seen as threatening.

EN
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01.04.2017
Floating Insecurity: Searching for an Anchor

The late Bauman was known for his searing commentaries on the modern world, including his view of security discourse and its "latent and manifest functions".

EN
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