A general description of threats to european security at the threshold of the 21st century

Over time, the issue of security has not lost its relevance, but on the contrary gained momentum because of the large-scale threats that have arisen and evolve. In today's world, there are threats that are beyond the control of a particular country and, for the sake of security, begin to pool their forces and resources. The author reveals the particularities of threats to European collective security in the 21st century. The article identifies threats based on doctrinal approaches. The threat is a set of factors and conditions that could potentially pose a danger to the state in the future. The author examines approaches to the classification of threats to collective security and their characteristics, as well as the author's classification of threats according to their relevance and time of occurrence. According to scientific approaches, the threats to European collective security are divided into: economic, military, information, environmental and other nature; direct and indirect; potential and immediate; external and internal. The author proposed his own classification of threats, according to which they are divided into: new threats, again relevant and classic. The author shows the threats influence on the formation of the European collective security system and how they affect its current changes. It is noted that contemporary external threats were emerging at the turn of the late 1980s – early 1990s, and some of them continue to be shaped and strengthened today. Given the current challenges that pose a threat to collective security, a number of specific actions need to be taken to improve the performance of collective security organizations in order to more effectively address contemporary threats. The author proposes ways to improve the activity of modern collective security systems in order to avoid the emergence and development of large-scale threats to collective security in the 21st century.