The Internal-External Security Continuum in the Fight Against Radicalisation: A Critical Appraisal on EU and French Narratives

The paper focus on the internal-external security nexus (IESN) narratives applied to the fight against radicalisation into terrorism. Its main import is to think critically the rationale and securitising effects of those narratives by comparing the European (EU) and national (France) levels. Is the narrative on radicalisation into terrorism evolving to an internal-external security continuum? The traditional threat of a military attack against a Member-State territory having been set aside, the European leaders rebuilt the security narratives based on transboundary problems that blur the internal/external divide therefore legitimizing a comprehensive approach both at the European and national (French) levels. The traditional border is replaced by two soft borders. Internally, a societal border associated to ‘the other’, justified by radicalism, violent extremism, terrorism, that are perceived as threats to the identity, norms, and values of European societies. Externally, the previous economic north-south divide is redefined in security terms: the stable centre that is threaten by the insecure periphery, a kind of ‘Pandora box’ of ‘interconnected nexus’ externalisation. Terrorism, just like cybercrime and hybrid threats, is perceived as a complex, multifaceted cross-border security problem to be tackled by a cross-sectorial and multilevel approach. The prevention of radicalisation, a key priority for the EU, includes a broad spectrum of measures ranging from internal to external action. Likewise, with more than 19000 cases of radicalisation reported, its prevention has become a priority for France although quite recently. Since 2014, France has developed a comprehensive counter-radicalisation policy that reflects the complexity of the overlapping between the internal and external dimensions, advocating a strengthening of cooperation at European and international levels.