EUROPEISKA UNIONENS ROLL SOM SÄKERHETSAKTÖR : En narrativanalys av Europeiska unionens säkerhetisering av terrorism under perioden 2006–2025 med sju analytiska nedslag

Sammanfattning

This study examines how the European Union constructs and communicates its identity as a security actor in response to terrorism, focusing on the attacks in Paris 2015, Berlin 2016, and Barcelona 2017. The research question explores how these events have influenced the EU’s security narrative and its role as a normative actor. Through narrative analysis of official EU documents from the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission. Covering the period from 2006 to 2025. The study examines seven analytical case studies, identifying changes and continuities in the portrayal of threats, actors, and measures. The results demonstrate a clear securitization process: terrorism has shifted from being perceived as a manageable institutional threat to an existential threat to European values and citizens’ daily lives. EU institutions have increasingly taken a leading role, legitimized expanded security measures and strengthened their authority. The results show how crises and threats shape the EU’s institutional identity, security strategy and exercise of soft power.