Challenges and opportunities for societal security in an enlarged European Union

Research on the EU as a security actor has to a great extent focused on its global role, on failed states, international peacekeeping and human security. This report has another focus: the EU´s role as an emerging actor in societal security. Societal security goes beyond traditional territorial security and aims at safeguarding not only the state and the individual (human security) but also societal functions. In order to understand the development of the EU as an actor in societal security, this report analyses aspects of the EU´s capacity to create security in areas such as soft security (non-military security issues), counter terrorism, and civil protection.The report is part of the work in the European Security Research Programme, a research and teaching programme at the Swedish National Defence College. The programme focuses on institutional factors that hape cooperation and capacity development related to EU security.