The Process of US and EU Confrontation with Terrorism from Different Perceptions to Collaboration

IntroductionA decade after the terrorist attacks of 9/11 terrorism remains among the most important subjects in the security strategy of the US and the EU. It is true that the event occurred in New York, but it entered world into a new phase and caused the revival of a broad term “The West” which had almost lost its importance in the aftermath of the cold war and collapse of the Soviet Union. Confronting with terrorism became a determinative principle in the American and European foreign policy as the consequence of New York terrorist attacks. However, this question arises whether they will share a homogeneous stand against the new threat of terrorism as they did during the cold war or they will choose different approaches towards this issue. The main question in this article is: “What are the nature and process of attitudes and approaches of the US and the European foreign policy makers towards the problem of terrorism?” MethodologyThis article, based on Analytical Descriptive Method, aims to provide an appropriate and reliable context for the Iranian foreign policy makers in dealing with the West about the problem of terrorism, employing relevantly clear and comprehensive illustrations of different approaches chosen by each of EU and the US regarding the issue. Results and dissuasionFindings of the article reveal a lack of common definition and perception about the new threat i.e. terrorism among the US and Europeans due to the ambiguity of its nature, a fact that created temporary problems in their mutual collaboration and convergence. Yet, based on “Defensive Realist Approach” which denotes that "common threads lead to a closer cooperation", the international relations arena witnessed a gradually increasing level of collaborations and convergence in the attitudes of the US and EU on terrorism.ConclusionIt seems that in the future more and closer cooperation in of the US and Europe Union will be in the context of fighting with terrorism.