Comparative analysis of post-9/11 security strategy documents of the UNSC permanent member countries in the context of combating terrorism

The end of the Cold War, globalization and especially the terrorist attacks of September 11 have deepened and expanded the perception of security. The traditional security approach has been replaced by a new security understanding, as terrorism has evolved extensively in terms of purpose, content, method, nature, organization and global action capabilities. This study, alongside the effects of these changes, examines whether terrorism and counter-terrorism concepts after September 11 are dominant factors affecting the national security strategy documents and international security policies of the permanent member states of the UNSC. Although there are many studies of national security strategy documents in the literature, country-by-country comparisons of such documents are relatively rare. This original study seeks to fill this gap identified in the literature. The study is two-fold. First, the documents of each member state are assessed regarding threats, measures and their impact on foreign and security policies. Subsequently, a holistic analysis is presented comparing the sets of national documents. The findings indicate that, cybersecurity, weapons of mass destruction, illegal migration, refugee issues, epidemics, environmental/climate disasters and failed states are included, in addition to terrorism, within the threat definitions of the new security perception. In reaction to these threats, deterrence, preemptive intervention, forward deployment, alliances, legal arrangements, modernization of forces and intelligence capabilities, and organizational adjustments are identified as concrete response measures. This study concludes that terrorism and counter-terrorism became the main factors affecting national security strategy documents and international security policies after the September 11 attacks; that countries use the rhetoric of fighting against terrorism as a political tool in the international security environment, and that national interests and ambitions show continuity while the documents evolve.