ABSTRACT

This volume examines the rationale, effectiveness and consequences of counter terrorism practices from a range of perspectives and cases.

The book critically interrogates contemporary counter-terrorism powers from military campaigns and repression through to the prosecution of terrorist suspects, counter-terrorism policing, counter-radicalisation programmes, and the proscription of terrorist organisations. Drawing on a range of timely and important case studies from around the world including the UK, Sri Lanka, Spain, Canada, Australia and the USA, its chapters explore the impacts of counter-terrorism on individuals, communities, and political processes.

The book focuses on three questions of vital importance to any assessment of counter-terrorism. First, what do counter-terrorism strategies seek to achieve? Second, what are the consequences of different counter-terrorism campaigns, and how are these measured? And, third, how and why do changes to counter-terrorism occur?

This volume will be of much interest to students of counter-terrorism, critical terrorism studies, criminology, security studies and IR in general.

chapter |10 pages

Introduction

The ends of counter-terrorism

chapter 1|30 pages

‘There's a good reason they are called al-Qaeda in Iraq. They are al-Qaeda … in … Iraq.' 1

The impossibility of a global counter-terrorism strategy, or the end of the nation state

chapter 2|15 pages

Counter-terrorism

The ends of a secular ministry

chapter 5|18 pages

Contemporary Spanish anti-terrorist policies

Ancient myths, new approaches 1

chapter 6|21 pages

‘I read it in the FT'

‘Everyday' knowledge of counter-terrorism and its articulation

chapter 7|20 pages

Prosecuting suspected terrorists

Precursor crimes, intercept evidence and the priority of security

chapter 8|19 pages

Banishing the enemies of all mankind

The effectiveness of proscribing terrorist organisations in Australia, Canada, the UK and US

chapter 9|18 pages

Britain's Prevent programme

An end in sight?

chapter 10|23 pages

How terrorism ends

Negotiating the end of the IRA's ‘armed struggle’

chapter 11|21 pages

From counter-terrorism to soft-authoritarianism

The case of Sri Lanka