Psychologically disturbed and on the side of the terrorists: the delegitimisation of critical intellectuals in Terrorism and Political Violence
The journal Terrorism and Political Violence recently published a special issue looking at why particular communities of intellectuals purportedly support terrorism, which, due to its politically partisan nature, is potentially damaging for terrorism studies. Showing that several articles within the...
Need for Character Development Program Based on Islamic Doctrines as a Counter-Terrorism Approach at HEIs of Pakistan
The current paper addresses the crucial need for a revival in the curriculum taught at higher education institutions in Pakistan. Issues like an increase in hate crimes, racism, sectarianism, and religious intolerance are attributed to unfamiliarity with fundamental character-building doctrines of ...
Blurred Lines: The New ‘Domestic’ Terrorism
The apparent growth of lone wolf violence, combined with the increased use of social media to recruit new members, contributes to a blurring of the line between domestic and international terrorism. Where a relatively simple distinction used to suffice for scholars, we are seeing more frequent att...
Light and dark: the contrasting approaches of British counter terrorism
This paper argues that, since its inception in the mid-Victorian period, British counter terrorism has pursued two distinct approaches. These approaches are a ‘light’ counter terrorism consisting of carefully managed publicly visible actions, and a contrasting ‘dark’ counter terrorism which ...
Israel's Counter-Terrorism Policy: How Effective?
The percentage of Israelis killed by terrorism is higher than in any other democracy. The article analyzes the threats Israel has faced, the impact terrorism has had on Israel, and the counter-terrorism policies Israel has adopted. Terrorism has had a decisive effect on Israeli elections and nationa...
Is counter-terrorism counterproductive? A case study of Kenya’s response to terrorism, 1998-2020
Kenya is a victim of transnational terrorism. As a response, the government in Nairobi has adopted numerous measures including legislation, the establishment of security organs to police the menace, building a border wall between Kenya and Somalia, attempts to repeal the 2006 Refugee Act and close r...
International cooperation for counter-terrorism: a strategic perspective
The three evil forces of terrorism, separatism and extremism have proliferated around the world, creating pandemonium and causing panic. While terrorists appear to have a symbiotic relationship among themselves, such synergy is patently missing among the governments of nations. This paper advocates ...
Femininity is not inferiority: women-led civil society organizations and “countering violent extremism” in Nigeria
The United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, and the Millennium Development Goals, brought the inclusion of women in the security agenda into the international limelight. Although these global frameworks, and other international resolutions, underscore the import...
Facing the world as it is? On irony and (counter)terrorism
Terrorism and counterterrorism are often described as “ironic”, but conceptual engagement with irony has been very limited. Building on the lifework of cultural anthropologist Joseba Zulaika, this article considers irony as an analytical meta-perspective in the critical study of (counter)te...
Evolving dynamics of China-Pakistan counterterrorism cooperat
Counter-terrorism cooperation is a crucial aspect of ChinaPakistan bilateral security relationship. Originating from a shared understanding of the threat of Uygur separatism facing China, it has encompassed the TTP and Baloch militants targeting CPEC projects and Chinese nationals in Pakistan. Howe...
Evaluating counter-terrorism strategies in Asia
The diverse and complex nature of the terrorist challenge in Asia has meant that a variety of responses have been adopted by states in the region. They include the criminal justice approach to counter-terrorism, the war model of counter-terrorism and the waging of counterinsurgency operations. As th...
Disenchantments: counterterror narratives and conviviality
Drawing on recent research into Australian community perspectives on radicalisation, extremism and terrorism, this article adopts a critical terrorism studies approach in considering the orientation and engagement strategies of counterterror narratives in multicultural societies. Drawing in part on ...
Counter-terrorism in the Horn of Africa: New security frontiers, old Strategies
The US-led ‘war on terror’ dramatically changed America’s security strategy towards Africa. But more fundamentally, it threw the Horn of Africa on the centre stage of global counter-terrorism. A double-edged blade, counter-terrorism has at once catalysed peace processes and intensifi ed ins...
Counter-terrorism in the EU’s external relations
The renewed emphasis on national political boundaries across Europe would seem to go hand-in-hand with a weaker external personality for the EU. However, there are several prominent examples of EU leadership that challenge this notion, from the December 2015 UN climate change agreement to common...
Counter-terrorism as crime prevention: a holistic approach
Within democratic societies, counter-terrorism is almost exclusively about crime prevention. A broad and holistic approach to preventing terrorism can be based on nine preventive mechanisms: building normative barriers against terrorism, reducing radicalisation and recruitment, deterrence, disruptio...
Counter-terrorism, Multinational Joint Task Force and the missing components
The wave of terrorism in the Lake Chad region has generated collective reactions from the affected state actors. It apparently prompted the revivification of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) as a regional counter-terrorism regime with sole emphasis on the use of force. However, while t...
Counterterrorism, Civil Society Organisations and Peacebuilding: The Role of Non-State Actors in Deradicalisation in Bima, Indonesia
Indonesia’s ongoing battle against terrorism has made deradicalisation programmes a major focus of the government. The National Counter-Terrorism Agency (BNPT) has primary responsibility for persuading terrorists to desist from, if not reject, violence as part of their Islamic struggle, but its ab...
Beyond instrumentalisation: gender and agency in the prevention of extreme violence in Kenya
Since the adoption of UNSCR 2242, which calls for the integration of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and the Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) agendas, feminist scholars and activists have cautioned that such a move instrumentalises and securitises the WPS agenda and its ob...
Amnesty as a tool in the deradicalisation of Boko Haram terrorists in Nigeria: a threat to national security
Granting amnesty to perpetrators of gross human rights is becoming a re-emerging phenomenon in Africa. Nigeria is currently witnessing unprecedented threats of violent extremism unleashed by terrorist groups; despite efforts to curb such acts, there has been little or no success. One such counter-t...
A scoping analysis of the counter terrorism command policing structure and its impact on intelligence sharing between the police and the security services
Counter-terrorism (CT) policing in the United Kingdom is presently delivered by Counter Terrorism Policing Headquarters (CTPHQ) through their Counter Terrorism Command (CTC) in the Metropolitan police. Their work is supported by 11 regional police counter-terrorism units (CTUs) across the UK. This i...
A review of Mali’s counterterrorism approach in the light of African Union interventions
Terrorism is pervasive in Mali. The efforts by Mali to counter terrorism, however, have been inadequate. The lack of institutional capacity and the lack of a workable counterterrorism policy characterised by bad governance are identified as key inadequacies in the fight against terrorism in Mal...
The dispositive of terrorism during the war on terrorism: the UNSC’s approach to concrete terror emergencies in the Middle East
This study adopts a constructivist approach to reveal the function of the dispositive of terrorism in the UN Security Council. While some CTS studies focus on genealogies of terrorism at the UN based on a general “global terrorism” discourse, this study focuses on concrete emergencies. The m...
Terrorism; discourse; construction; state stability; state-building; un security council; Afghanistan; Iraq; Israel; Lebanon; Hezbollah; Hamas
In spite of government counter-terrorism expenditure and efforts, the incidence of terrorism in Nigeria appears to be rising. This paper examines the growth and fiscal consequences of terrorism in Nigeria by estimating the terrorism–macroeconomy relation using different measures of terror incidenc...
(Counter-) terrorism in Africa: Reflections for a new decade
As the new decade dawns, Africa remains a key frontier for terrorist activity with ongoing terrorist campaigns in Nigeria, Kenya and Somalia, among other places, while new insurgencies have emerged in the Central African Republic and Mozambique. This article provides an introduction to this special ...
Reintegration and localised conflict: security impacts beyond influencing spoilers
This article investigates the effectiveness of combatant reintegration through a case study of two security-oriented programmes held in Poso, Indonesia from 2007 to 2008. Each programme aimed to prevent further attacks by addressing perceived economic difficulties experienced by youths whose main sk...
US Counter-terrorism: Moving Beyond Global Counter-insurgency to Strongpoint Defence
How should we think about the 20-year response to the attacks of 11 September 2001? Afghanistan has fallen to the Taliban. Does that mean US counter-terrorism has failed? Osama bin Laden is dead, and al-Qaeda is a shadow of what it was. Does that mean US counter-terrorism has succeeded? Will al-...
US Counter-terrorism: Moving Beyond Global Counter-insurgency to Strongpoint Defence
How should we think about the 20-year response to the attacks of 11 September 2001? Afghanistan has fallen to the Taliban. Does that mean US counter-terrorism has failed? Osama bin Laden is dead, and al-Qaeda is a shadow of what it was. Does that mean US counter-terrorism has succeeded? Will al-...
US Counter-terrorism: Moving Beyond Global Counter-insurgency to Strongpoint Defence
How should we think about the 20-year response to the attacks of 11 September 2001? Afghanistan has fallen to the Taliban. Does that mean US counter-terrorism has failed? Osama bin Laden is dead, and al-Qaeda is a shadow of what it was. Does that mean US counter-terrorism has succeeded? Will al-...
Analysing Terrorism and Counter-terrorism: A Communication Model
This article analyses terrorism and counter-terrorism within a framework of communication. This analytic framework views violence as a form of communication that interacts with other forms of social and political communication, whether by nonstate actors or state actors. By looking at how terrorism...
The use of undercover military units in counterterrorist operations: a historical analysis with reference to contemporary anti-terrorism
This article examines the use of specialised plain-clothes military units in counter-terrorism, concentrating on examples involving liberal-democratic states. It analyses the benefits and problems arising from clandestine military activity, focusing in particular on British army units (notably 14 In...
British Counter-Terrorism After 7/7: Adapting Community Policing to the Fight Against Domestic Terrorism
After the Madrid and London train-bombings, perceptions of the sources of Islamic terrorism changed. The British response to domestic jihadism was to apply communitypolicing principles to counter-terrorism enforcement. This essay describes the origins and intentions of the community-based policing ...
Hard Versus Soft Measures to Security: Explaining the Failure of Counter-Terrorism Strategy in Nigeria
Nigeria continues to face the challenge of containing terrorism despite adopting diverse counter-terrorism measures. While extant literature has evaluated the impacts of these measures, explaining why terrorist attacks in Nigeria persist despite a robust hard approach through the traditional use of ...
The Mediterranean Dimension of EU Counter‐ terrorism
Key to the Mediterranean dimension of the European Union’s internal security is the fight against terrorism, which has captivated most of European policy making in recent years. Counter-terrorism initiatives aimed at the Mediterranean region have multiplied, taking the form of technical assistanc...
Security Council Resolution 2242 on Women, Peace and Security: Progressive Gains or Dangerous Development?
This article challenges the UN Security Council’s approach to women, peace and security through a detailed analysis of participation initiatives in the eight resolutions on women, peace and security, alongside study of the recent shift to include counter terrorism and violent extremism provisions ...
Suspect community or suspect category? The impact of counter-terrorism as ‘policed multiculturalism’
How to think about the impact of counter-terrorism and counterradicalisation on ethnic and religious accommodation? Much of the literature draws on the concept of ‘suspect community’, suggesting it has primarily alienated the Muslim community, favouring an assimilationist model of ‘muscular l...
The ligaments of counter-terrorism regime: sexual violence and the vicarious traumatisation of female non-governmental organisation workers: evidence from Nigeria
There is a dearth of studies on indirect victims of sexual violence in counterterrorism efforts. Using Nigeria as a case study, this paper argues that global and state-level counter-terrorism policies have generally failed to account for the psychological effects of the engagement of female NGO wor...
The Security Council and Counterterrorism: Global and Regional Approaches to an Elusive Public Good
This paper explores contemporary counterterrorism efforts as an instrument for attaining peace as a ‘global public good’. It notes the lack of an agreed definition of terrorism, the distinction between freedom-fighting and terrorism, and the issue of ‘excessive use of force’ by the state. It...
The African state and the failure of US counterterrorism initiatives in Africa: The cases of Nigeria and Mali
Counter-terrorism initiatives are failing across the African continent. A major reason for this failure lies in the state-centric and military-focused nature of many counterterrorism initiatives. In Africa, the state is often the source of insecurity for ordinary citizens. Any military strengthenin...
Counter-terrorism policing innovations in Turkey: a case study of Turkish National Police CVE experiment
In recent years, many governments have introduced so-called ‘countering violent extremism’ (CVE) measures to promote terrorists’ and potential terrorists’ deradicalization and disengagement from terrorist activity. This paper analyses the potential contribution of CVE programmes to counter-...
Protecting Global Cities: New York, London and the Internationalization of Municipal Policing for Counter Terrorism
Policing counter terrorism is increasingly seen as key task for police forces spanning the entire spectrum of size and capability. However, in the case of many police forces, resource limitations, low threat levels and coordination with national level law enforcement have combined to limit the expan...
The impact of UN Security Council resolution 2242 in Australia, the UK and Sweden
The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda is anchored in ten United Nations Security Council resolutions addressing gender equality and women’s rights in peace and security governance. The codification of the WPS agenda in the adopted resolutions establishes standards of practice to be adopted b...
Towards a counter‐terrorism law and policy
The first part of the paper seeks to identify the factors and dynamics of 'the new face' of international terrorism that must be factored into any counter-terrorism law and policy; it concludes, on this point, that the most important factor blunting an effective counter-terrorism law and p...
The Broader Horn of Africa: Peacekeeping in a Strategic Vacuum
This article analyses the challenges confronting the international community as it tries to deal with the conflicts in the Broader Horn of Africa through peacekeeping. The contention of the article is that peacekeeping efforts in the region are undertaken in a strategic vacuum, thus undermining effo...
Terrorism and the good life: toward a virtueethical framework for morally assessing terrorism and counter-terroris
This paper shows that contemporary political reasoning and action in the context of modern terrorism derives from moral arguments that are seriously flawed. Those arguments are built on a simplistic understanding of terrorism and exclusively adhere to ‘conventional’ act-based ethical, for exampl...
Eight steps to improve counter-terrorism measures in South Africa
In recent years, South Africa has come to be used by international terrorists as a safe house, for paramilitary training purposes, as a base from which to plan attacks on other countries and as a conduit for fi nancial transactions. South Africa’s own counter-terrorism initiatives have been lab...
Merits and Limits of Counter-ideological Work Against Terrorism: A Critical Appraisal
Counter-ideological work is touted as crucial in combating terrorism. This article attempts to analyse the role of counter-ideology in dealing with a particular type of terrorism: Muslim jihadist extremism. This paper reiterates findings from existing research, in arguing that counter-ideology is...
Counter-terrorism, Discrimination, and Freedom of Thought, Conscience, Religion, or Belief
This article discusses the impact of religion-centric counter-terrorism trends on peoples’ enjoyment of freedom of thought, conscience, religion, or belief (FoRB). It underlines that everyone should be able to access this human right equally without discrimination, regardless of their convictions...
Countering terrorism through the use of informants: the Northern Ireland experience
Governments when faced with countering terrorism have a number of options at their disposal. One such option is the collection of intelligence, and human intelligence can provide valuable information on terrorist groups and their activities. ‘Tout’, ‘informer’, ‘informant’, ‘source’,...
Transnational counter-terrorism law: law, power and legitimacy in the ‘wars on terror
The transnationalisation of counter-terrorism law is a key feature of law after 11 September 2001. The development of a ‘transnational counter-terrorism law’ has been led by efforts through the UN Security Council, in particular in its resolution 1373 (2001) and 2178 (2014). This paper uses thes...
The Juridification of the UK’s Counter Terrorism Prevent Policy
The U.K. policy of “Prevent” aims to stop people becoming involved in, or supporting, terrorism. In common with many CVE policies worldwide, Prevent has remained controversial in its conception, delivery, and impact. A formal review is now underway, so it is opportune to ask, “Whither Prevent?...
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