"European security in the new political environment"

[From the Introduction]. National security is the most important objective of the states which make up the European international political system. What national security actually is, or is not, may be what is called by international relations theorists a "contested concept", but governments seem to know what it is and when it is under threat. It may be that the notion of national security followed by governments is narrowly focused on defence and military matters, and that a more holistic conception is more appropriate to contempory circumstances. Also it may be that the perceptions of threat to national security, narrowly or broadly conceptualised, are mistaken. But the reality is that perceptions of national security and the practise of appropriate policies to sustain that core, intangible objective of sovereign statehood drive state policy as much today as at any time since the development of the modern international state system. A distinct sense of national security is sought as the bedrock for the creation of economic and social structures attractive to any state