ABSTRACT

International and national pre-crime legislation on terrorism and violent extremism is a governing strategy, aiming to achieve standards and standardized practices on a wide array of security risks. Threats of terrorism and violent extremism are seen as serious security risks to the European Union and its populations. The prediction of future crime and the assessment of contemporary threats and the risks they pose are enduring challenges for the security community. Within the pre-crime frame, the standardization of security risks, for instance, terrorism prevention, operate through decision-making, norms, and legislation. Terrorism, radicalization, and violent extremism are seen not as incalculable unknowns and uncertain future crimes but as manageable security risks. However, it is argued that, due to the fundamentally political nature and the many contingencies of security, security risks cannot be standardized in the context of pre-crime and terrorism prevention.