In September 2001, the world witnessed the horrific events of 9/11. A great deal has happened on the counterterrorist front in the 20 years since. While the terrorist threat has greatly diminished in Northern Ireland, the events of 9/11 and their aftermath have ushered in a new phase for the rest of the UK with some familiar, but also many novel, characteristics. This ambitious study takes stock of counterterrorism in Britain in this anniversary year. Assessing current challenges, and closely mirroring the ‘four Ps’ of the official CONTEST counterterrorist strategy – Protect, Prepare, Prevent, and Pursue – it seeks to summarize and grasp the essence of domestic law and policy, without being burdened by excessive technical detail. It also provides a rigorous, context-aware, illuminating, yet concise, accessible, and policy-relevant analysis of this important and controversial subject, grounded in relevant social science, policy studies, and legal scholarship. This book will be an important resource for students and scholars in law and social science, as well as human rights, terrorism, counterterrorism, security, and conflict studies.

Frank Foley presents the first in-depth comparative analysis of counterterrorist operations in two leading liberal democracies.

This document sets out the United Kingdom's strategy, known as CONTEST, for countering the threat from international terrorism. The aim of CONTEST is to reduce the risk to the United Kingdom (UK) and its interests overseas from international terrorism, so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence. This is a revised and more detailed version of the strategy contained in "The national security strategy of the United Kingdom" (Cm. 7291, 2008, ISBN 9780101729123). The first part sets the context with a brief history of the changing threat to the United Kingdom and to UK interests overseas from international terrorism, examines the present threat, the factors which are shaping it and the assumptions about how it may develop. The second part sets out the principles which will govern the strategy, including a commitment to human rights and the rule of law, recognition of the need to address the causes as well as the symptoms of terrorism and the need to co-operate with other countries. The four main streams of the CONTEST strategy are: (1) pursue - to stop terrorist attacks; (2) prevent - to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting violent extremism; (3) protect - to strengthen our protection against terrorist attack; (4) prepare - where an attack cannot be stopped, to mitigate its impact. The third part of the document outlines who will deliver the strategy and how its impact will be measured. The document concludes with a section explaining the importance of communications as a part of the counter-terrorism strategy.

Discusses and compares various reactions to the challenges of mass-scale terrorism. This volume is grounded in a conceptual presumption that the countries directly affected by terrorism produce different types of responses.

This authoritative companion brings together the learning of the first decade since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, drawing on the personal and professional foresight of key individuals identifying future challenges that still lie ahead in the decades yet to come.

This new Handbook provides a comprehensive, state-of-the-art overview of current knowledge and debates on terrorism and counterterrorism, as well as providing a benchmark for future research. The attacks of 9/11 and the ‘global war on terror’ and its various legacies have dominated international politics in the opening decades of the 21st century. In response to the dramatic rise of terrorism, within the public eye and the academic world, the need for an accessible and comprehensive overview of these controversial issues remains profound. The Routledge Handbook of Terrorism and Counterterrorism seeks to fulfil this need. The volume is divided into two key parts: Part I: Terrorism: This section provides an overview of terrorism, covering the history of terrorism, its causes and characteristics, major tactics and strategies, major trends and critical contemporary issues such as radicalisation and cyber-terrorism. It concludes with a series of detailed case studies, including the IRA, Hamas and Islamic State. Part II: Counterterrorism: This part draws on the main themes and critical issues surrounding counterterrorism. It covers the major strategies and policies, key events and trends and the impact and effectiveness of different approaches. This section also concludes with a series of case studies focused on major counterterrorism campaigns. This book will be of great interest to all students of terrorism and counterterrorism, political violence, counter-insurgency, criminology, war and conflict studies, security studies and IR more generally.

The Home Affairs Committee states in a report published today (HCP 311, session 2009-10, ISBN 9780215545060) that the wider introduction of full-body scanners is a welcome development in airport security. It states though that the Government's position of adopting "proportionate" measures is a euphemism for adopting a wholly reactive stance and waiting for terrorists to demonstrate their new capabilities before implementing improved security measures. In view of the ongoing terrorist threat to airline passengers and staff the Committee urge the Government to constantly look for further technological measures to improve airport security. The Committee is satisfied that the privacy concerns that have been expressed in relation to these devices are overstated and that privacy concerns should not prevent the deployment of scanners, but is concerned at the delay in the introduction of other security devices such as hand-held Electronic Trace Detection equipment. The Committee also says that the Government should be wary of relying on one make or model of equipment and where possible conceal the technical specifications of equipment away from the public gaze. Also international standards in aviation security must be made more stringent and more must be done to tackle terrorism at the source. The Committee also raises concerns at the institutional separation of airport security from wider counter-terrorism measures.

Counter-terrorism policy and human Rights : Terrorism Bill and related matters, third report of session 2005-06, Vol. 2: Oral and written Evidence

This book provides a qualitative analysis of post-9/11 counter-terrorism strategy undertaken by the United Kingdom and United States of America. Since 9/11, both the UK and the U.S have significantly revamped their counter-terrorism approaches. The approaches apply, to varying degrees, three key policy instruments – intelligence, law enforcement and military force. However, the success or failure of these counter-terrorism strategies has never been satisfactorily validated. Analysts and policymakers alike have assumed success due to the inability of terrorists to conduct 7/7 and 9/11, respectively, scale attacks upon each state. This assumption has existed despite the fact that it fundamentally underestimates the impact of transnational terrorism. This volume provides an in-depth qualitative assessment of the three primary policy instruments implemented to counter the transnational threat of terrorism during the period 2001-2011; an approach somewhat neglected by the current body of literature which focuses on a purely quantitative methodology. Drawing upon previously unpublished data collected from interviews with policymakers, specialists and academics, the book fills this lacuna by ascertaining and analysing both the UK’s and USA’s counter-terrorism strategies and developing a holistic approach to understanding these strategies. This book will be of interest to students of terrorism and counter-terrorism studies, security studies and IR in general.

This document presents the first annual report on the work done in 2009-10 by Government departments and agencies under the United Kingdom's strategy, known as CONTEST, for countering the threat from international terrorism. The aim of CONTEST is to reduce the risk to the United Kingdom and its interests overseas from international terrorism, so that people can go about their lives freely and with confidence. The report sets out the strategic context and details the response under the pursue, prevent, protect and prepare headings, and with a separate section on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Cross-cutting issues covered include: chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons and explosives; Olympic safety and security programme; communications.