This timely collection of original essays examines the global link between democratic development and political terrorism, delving into the difficult questions, challenges, far-reaching consequences, and uncertainties of dealing with terrorism on an international scale.

As the United States and the countries of Western Europe have sought to promote democratic rule in those parts of the world that have not enjoyed the blessings of liberty, they have failed to consider an important factor. Competitive elections, the sine qua non of democratic government, often gives rise to serious bouts of political violence: mob riots, inter-party fighting, and internal wars. The essays collected in this volume evaluate the relationship between terrorist activity and electoral politics. Do democratic elections themselves undermine the development and stability of the democratic institutions the United States and its allies seek to promote? Under what conditions are democratic elections effective at bringing terrorist organizations into the political process, thereby quelling violence? When and how might terrorist organizations use democratic elections to foment violence? This book was published as a special issue of Terrorism and Political Violence.

Following The Terrorist Attacks In New York And Washington, D.C. On 11 September 2001, South Asia Emerged As The Epicentre Of The War Against Terrorism, With The Involvement Of The American And Coalition Forces Against Al Qaeda In Afghanistan. The Development Brought Into Focus Not Only The Spectre Posed By The Threat Of Global Terrorism, But Also The Dangers Which Terrorism Poses Within And Among The Countries Of The Region. In South Asia, There Is A Consensus That Terrorism Has A Negative Impact On Economic Development, But The Assessment Differs Significantly Depending On The Experience Of Individual Countries. There Is, Therefore, A Need To Develop A Common Methodology To Calculate The Costs Of Conflicts Which Should Be Able To Demonstrate, Among Other Things, That Conflicts Are Responsible For The Economic Ills Of Countries. Such An Exercise Would Be Incomplete Without A Better Understanding Of The Economy Of Terrorism, Including The Sources And Methods Of Its Financing And Its Economic Networking. Similarly, There Is Also A Consensus In The Region That Terrorism Undermines And Weakens The Democratic Structure Of Countries, But It Is Not Yet Fully Clear How That Is Done. Most Papers In The Present Volume Have Attempted To Address Both The Causes And Consequences Of Terrorism, And Strongly Underscore The Need For Case-By-Case Study Of Individual Terrorist Groups To See How They Have Impacted On The State Structure

Illustrated most dramatically by the events of 9/11 and the subsequent ‘war on terror’, violence represents a challenge to democratic politics and to the establishment of liberal-democratic regimes. Liberal-democracies have themselves not hesitated to use violence and restrict civil liberties as a response to such challenges. These issues are at the centre of global politics and figure prominently in political debates today concerning multiculturalism, political exclusion and the politics of gender. This book takes up these topics with reference to a wide range of case-studies, covering Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. It provides a theoretical framework clarifying the relationship between democracy and violence and presents original research surveying current hot-spots of violent conflict and the ways in which violence affects the prospects for democratic politics and for gender equality. Based on field-work carried out by specialists in the areas covered, this volume will be of high interest to students of democratic politics and to all those concerned with ways in which the recourse to violence could be reduced in a global context. This book has significant implications for policy-makers involved in attempts to develop safer and more peaceful ways of handling political and social conflict. This book was published as a special issue of Democratizations.

A chilling, up-to-the-minute look at the links between political instability and terrorism in Asia and Africa

This handbook explores how democracies around the world seek to balance democratic values with the requirement to protect their citizens from the threat of politically motivated violence. Over the past few decades, the majority of the world’s democracies have had to confront serious security threats, and in many instances these challenges have not come from rival states but from violent groups. This volume offers readers an overview of how some democracies have responded to such threats. It examines the extent to which authorities have felt compelled to modify laws to evade what would ordinarily be regarded as protected rights, such as personal privacy, freedom of movement and freedom of speech. Grounded in historical analysis, each of the sections addresses past and emerging security threats; legal and legislative responses to them; successful and unsuccessful efforts to reconcile democracy and security; and a range of theoretical questions. The case studies provided vary in terms of the durability of their democratic systems, level of economic development and the severity of the threats with which they have been confronted. The volume is divided into three thematic parts: Strong democracies: United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Australia, New Zealand and Israel Challenged democracies: India, South Africa, Brazil, Argentina and Romania Fragile democracies: the Philippines and Nigeria. This book will be of much interest to students of democracy, security studies, political philosophy, Asian politics, Middle Eastern politics, African politics, West European politics and IR in general.

This work outlines the important considerations of policy that confront a democratic state in trying to combat terrorism and at the same time remain democratic. Part I of this book, provides the reader with a comprehensive introduction to the definition, history, theory, operation and effects of terrorism as an essential background to policy analysis. Part II analyses counter-terrorist policies. It begins by outlining basic policy choices and then looks at specific policy areas such as the role of intelligence agencies, the use of the armed forces, the development of anti-terrorist legislation and international treaties, and the issue of regulation of media reporting of terrorist incidents. Developments in the strategic dimension of terrorism are discussed in chapters on the importance of hostage takings to international terrorism and issues surrounding state involvement in international terrorism. In the preparation of this second edition, Grant Wardlaw has considerably expanded the second part of the book, focusing firmly upon the international policy consequences of prevalent developments within international terrorism.

In the wake of the September 11 attacks, Americans were confronted with a new kind of war and a new kind of danger. After the strikes, institutions were created to mobilize the domestic response to potential terrorist threats and Congress passed legislation giving the president broad powers to fight terrorism and to provide heightened security for the nation. In this timely work, a team of experts addresses the question of how a democracy faces the challenge of balancing legitimate homeland security concerns against the rights and freedoms of its citizens. They evaluate the measures introduced in the aftermath of 9/11 and assess the far-reaching consequences of those changes for American politics and society.

In the wake of September 11 through the U.S. invasion of Iraq, a key tenet of U.S. foreign policy has been that promoting democracy in the Arab world is an important strategy in reducing terrorism; at the same time, some policymakers and analysts have held that democracy has nothing to do with terrorism -- or even that the growth of democracy in the Middle East may exacerbate political violence. However, scant empirical evidence links democracy to terrorism, positively or negatively. This study examines whether such links exist by exploring the effects of liberalization processes on political violence in Egypt, Jordan, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Morocco from 1991 to 2006. Drawing on data on the incidence of terrorist violence, extensive fieldwork and interviews in each of the six countries, and primary and secondary literature from and about each country, Kaye et al. find that political reforms have, in some instances, helped to marginalize and undercut extremist actors, but that these effects tend to be short-lived if reforms fail to produce tangible results. Moreover, when regimes backtrack on even limited openings, the risks of instability and violence increase.

Ever since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, fighters from abroad have journeyed in ever-greater numbers to conflict zones in the Muslim world to defend Islam from-in their view-infidels and apostates. The phenomenon recently reached its apogee in Syria, where the foreign fighter population quickly became larger and more diverse than in any previous conflict. In Road Warriors, Daniel Byman provides a sweeping history of the jihadist foreign fighter movement. He begins by chronicling the movement's birth in Afghanistan, its growing pains in Bosnia and Chechnya, and its emergence as a major source of terrorism in the West in the 1990s, culminating in the 9/11 attacks. Since that bloody day, the foreign fighter movement has seen major ups and downs. It rode high after the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, when the ultra-violent Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) attracted thousands of foreign fighters. AQI overreached, however, and suffered a crushing defeat. Demonstrating the resilience of the movement, however, AQI reemerged anew during the Syrian civil war as the Islamic State, attracting tens of thousands of fighters from around the world and spawning the bloody 2015 attacks in Paris among hundreds of other strikes. Although casualty rates are usually high, the survivors of Afghanistan, Syria, and other fields of jihad often became skilled professional warriors, going from one war to the next. Still others returned to their home countries, some to peaceful retirement but a deadly few to conduct terrorist attacks. Over time, both the United States and Europe have learned to adapt. Before 9/11, volunteers went to and fro to Afghanistan and other hotspots with little interference. Today, the United States and its allies have developed a global program to identify, arrest, and kill foreign fighters. Much remains to be done, however-jihadist ideas and networks are by now deeply embedded, even as groups such as Al Qaeda and the Islamic State rise and fall. And as Byman makes abundantly clear, the problem is not likely to go away any time soon.