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Show HONORS COLLEGE SPRING 2013 John Francis CIVIL LIBERTIES AND SECURITY IN THE UNITED STATES AND THE EUROPEAN UNION Nicholas Daskalas (John Francis) Department of Political Science University of Utah The United States and the European Union both enjoy high levels of civil liberty protections. However, with the increased threat of global terrorism, the US and EU face the dilemma of whether civil liberties or national security be given precedence, should the two conflict. This essay provides an analysis of the pertinent legislation and court rulings of four case study nations: the United States, Great Britain, Germany and France. An analysis of efforts at a supranational level with the European Union as well as an analysis of the historical context through which each nation defined their liberties will also be provided. It will be shown that the states w h o are the best protectors of their citizen's liberties tend to be the nations w h o were the most heavily impacted, by World War II, and w h o were forced to rebuild, not just the physical property of their nation, but the framework on which their government operates. 204 |