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Ukraine has been viewed by some as having become a training ground, networking opportunity, and general hub for the far-right due to the conflict in the east of the country, which began in 2014. With this type of terrorism on the rise in the West and events like the storming of the US Capitol Building in January 2021 fresh in the memory, it should come as no surprise that any such possibilities will generate concern. To investigate the types and extent of the threats posed by participants in the Ukraine conflict, we scrutinise the activities of a few alumni that we know of to date, as well as highlighting neglected historical episodes of right-wing fighters. We make three arguments here based on occurrences so far. Firstly, we know little about far-right foreign fighters and more attention needs to be paid to historical instances of the phenomenon. Secondly, some limited but diverse threats have already arisen from the Ukraine conflict and others may emerge in the future, but it would be unwise to overplay and homogenise the problem. Finally, it is Ukraine itself that probably faces the greatest challenges from its domestic far-right, although, if left unchecked, it may affect others in providing a space for, and permitting the growth of, connections with like-minded individuals and groups based elsewhere. Despite our warning about exaggerating the problem, Western security services should be taking the far-right very seriously at present, such as in relation to potential infiltration of them by such elements.

EU-US relations in internal security demonstrated a tendency to be turbulent. As a result, EU-US cooperation has not evolved into a partnership but into an asymmetrical relationship within which the EU has become a 'norm taker' - a recipient of US security norms. With this perspective in mind, it is time to take stock of the changes in the institutional configuration of the EU brought about by the Lisbon Treaty. In particular, the European Parliament (EP), often a vocal critic of the transfer of US security norms to the EU in the past, has been empowered to consent to international agreements. We therefore examine whether the EU remains a recipient of US security norms after Lisbon through the first case of its kind: the EU-US Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) Agreement. By rejecting the first of the two agreements, the EP generally acted contrary to the preferences of the Council and United States, who were mostly in favour of the agreement. Despite this opposition, the EP gained few concessions from the United States and Council in the second round of negotiations for a permanent SWIFT Agreement, with their emphasis on security trumping most of the EP's data protection concerns. In sum, the use of theories on norm internalization allows us to conclude that, after Lisbon, the EP has abandoned its previous critical stances and is now becoming a new 'norm taker' within the EU-US relationship.

EU-US relations in internal security demonstrated a tendency to be turbulent. As a result, EU-US cooperation has not evolved into a partnership but into an asymmetrical relationship within which the EU has become a "norm taker" -- a recipient of US security norms. With this perspective in mind, it is time to take stock of the changes in the institutional configuration of the EU brought about by the Lisbon Treaty. In particular, the European Parliament (EP), often a vocal critic of the transfer of US security norms to the EU in the past, has been empowered to consent to international agreements. We therefore examine whether the EU remains a recipient of US security norms after Lisbon through the first case of its hind: the EU-US Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) Agreement. By rejecting the first of the two agreements, the EP generally acted contrary to the preferences of the Council and United States, who were mostly in favour of the agreement. Despite this opposition, the EP gained few concessions from the United States and Council in the second round of negotiations for a permanent SWIFT Agreement, with their emphasis on security trumping most of the EP's data protection concerns. In sum, the use of theories on norm internalization allows us to conclude that, after Lisbon, the EP has abandoned its previous critical stances and is now becoming a new "norm taker" within the EU-US relationship. Adapted from the source document.

"This significant book provides a comprehensive analysis of the global dimension of European Union (EU) counter-terrorism. It focuses on the growth of the EU as a global counter-terrorism actor, from it having almost no role in 2001 to becoming a significantly greater force in recent years. Analysing one of the most important policy areas of European integration, authors Christian Kaunert, Alex MacKenzie and Sarah Leonard consider the key question of why the EU may have become a global actor in counter-terrorism. The authors then develop a unique theoretical approach in the form of actorness and collective securitization, which analyses the EU's evolution as a counter-terrorism actor in different case studies, such as counter-terrorism in the transatlantic relationship, North Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Overall, this book highlights that the EU is, in fact, becoming a counter-terrorism actor of growing importance and with an ever-diversifying number of policy options available. Addressing topical matters, this book will be a key resource for scholars, researchers and students in fields such as European studies, international relations, political science and governance. It will also attract the attention of practitioners, politicians, non-governmental and civil society organisations"--

This article analyses the EU-UK Future Relationship negotiations on Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) through the lenses of 'exceptionalism'. This concept refers to a given state's self-understanding as being not only fundamentally different from other states, but also morally superior. In its exemptionalist variant, exceptionalism also calls attention to the belief that one is entitled to exemptions from ordinary rules. This article argues that, whilst exemptionalist exceptionalism can be said to characterize the UK's position in relation to European integration in general, it has been particularly pronounced in the JHA policy area. This is shown through an analysis of the various exemptions from ordinary rules and arrangements obtained by the UK over the years. The existence of those also demonstrates a broad acceptance by the rest of the EU of this selfperception of the UK as being an exceptional state. Furthermore, this article shows that, perhaps unsurprisingly, the UK government has retained this stance in the Future Relationship negotiations with the EU. It has set its expectations of negotiating agreements with the EU that would set it apart from all the other partners of the EU. It has attempted to justify such an exceptional treatment on the basis of the remarkable quality of the contribution that it has been able to make to EU internal security as encapsulated in the idea that 'the EU needs us more than we need them'. However, recent developments suggest that the EU is no longer as favourably disposed to grant exceptional treatment to the UK in the field of JHA now as it was when the UK was a Member State.
United Kingdom, exceptionalism, Justice and Home Affairs, Internal security, Brexit