of a large magnitude could allow opportunistic actors to gain political, financial and economic advantages in the international arena, resulting in weakening our societies. 37. The globalisation of financial resources. Financial systems, which handle the most important resources of the planet, tend to be increasingly interconnected and not related to specific states, sometimes resulting in a decrease of sovereignty in many countries when having some difficulties managing a home crisis through traditional means and in the increase number of actors involved in each specific crisis situation. 38. Local Identities. The progressive birth of local different groups or organisations causes an increasing weakening and fragmentation of existing states, which are unable to centrally manage the twenty-first century complex phenomenon. In some cases, this weakness opens the way to non-state transnational religious or criminal organisations. The violence and diffusion rate of such organisations have a significant impact on the condition of regional or global security. The effects of such conflicts could lead to attacks on critical infrastructures, to forced changes in the political equilibrium and could jeopardise the flow of trade and energy. The consequences arising from the possession of chemical, bacteriological, radiological or nuclear offensive tools are particularly serious in these territories. Even the threat of using these kinds of weapons could have serious political, social and economic consequences. 39. Decrease in defence investment. This phenomenon is common in the western world while the opposite is true in the rest of the world, particularly in relation to regional powers. For Western countries, the reduction in military spending is the result of a widespread diminished awareness regarding the importance of the defence issues compared to other economic and social problems. If this trend continues, the capacity to prevent and deter will diminish in western countries, while the level of possible risks and threats to security will increase, and the overall ability to defend both vital and strategic interests and the values on which our democratic structures are based, will be compromised. - 25 -