Approach of the European Union and the United States of America Towards the Security Threat of Islamic State

Islamic State, terroristic organisation with strong ideological motive, widespread organisational structure, occupying territory of sovereign states, attacking by variety of weapons at various places against different targets, became one of the most serious current global security threats. Even though the threat is on the international level, the approaches of global players differ a lot. The main aim of this comparative study is to compare security and strategic cultures of the European Union and the United States of America in the case of approach towards the Islamic State. Comparison will be based on two separate analysis of both complex strategies and particular steps from various methodological viewpoints. Based on these analysis differences and common features of those two approaches will be presented. Firstly, the study will focus on determinants of engagement (security, political, economic and social motives) in the fight against Islamic State. These determinants are the basis for picking up tools and means for complex strategy. Secondly, the study will analyse the global players from the view of holistic theory that explains behaviour, interests and identity of analysed subjects as a consequence of their structure. The European Union and the United States of America will be analysed as global players based on their inner and outer structure. Inner structure will correspond with the system of government (in case of the USA) and with administration functioning based on cooperation of sovereign states (in case of the EU). Outer structure will emerge from the ability to act as a global player in the system of international relations. Third examined aspect of the study will be concrete complex strategy of the subject in fighting the Islamic State that is based on outer factors (determinants of engagement) and also on inner factors (administration functioning and position in the system of international relations). Complex strategy will be examined from three different viewpoints: approach towards other subjects (unilateralism vs. multilateralism), preferred approaches towards the threat (militarism vs. political solution), preferred means (pre-emptive hits vs. preventive acting). Complex strategy will be analysed equally from the standpoints of materialism and idealism, meaning the usage of soft power and hard power means, respectively smart power means. Study will present deep multidimensional analysis of two global players and their approach towards concrete actual threat. Based on these two analyses approaches will be compared, which will lead to answers to the questions of how these players face the threat and how these approaches differ, but also what stands behind these concrete steps that actors took in fight against the Islamic State.