Terrorism and Internal Security - Annotated Bibliography Example

Terrorism and Internal Security: an Annotated Bibliography Student’s Name Institution Affiliation Introduction For many years, terrorism has remained an unpredictable disaster in many countries allover the world (Baxter, 1974). The research carried out by Coolsaet in 2010 points out that terrorism has politically, financially, socially and religiously affected many countries that have fallen victims. There exist a variety of definitions of the term terrorism. However according to Barros (2003), terrorism can be defined as the systematic and organized use of threat, murder, injury and coercion to create an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty to frighten the targeted people or nations into giving in to the aims of the terrorists. The main purpose of terrorism is to govern or resist the targeted people/nation(s) politically (Europol TE‐SAT, 2010). According to Macrae (2003), terrorism has taken a new trend towards insecurely organized global systems of terrorist, which are self financed. Choudhury and Helen (2011) point out that, the greatest concern as of now is the increasing political partaking of revolutionary Islamist partiers in overseas nations. Many researchers argue that the most effective tool of fighting this disaster is proper internal security measures. Terrorism has greatly affected the development of many nations and this is the reason nations should invest heavily in upgrading their internal security. According to Barros (2003), investing in internal security does not only eliminate terrorism but also contribute to poverty reduction and a nation’s economic growth. Wilkinson, P. (2005). “International Terrorism: The changing threat and the EU’s response”. Chaillot paper, Institute for security studies. The article focuses on the changing trends of terrorism from the traditional terrorist groups into the modern loosely organized terrorist groups such as the AL Qaeda and the threat that they pose to the European nations. Kaldor (1999) agrees with Wilkinson that the trends of terrorism are changing into insecurely organized, sell financed international groups. According to Wilkinson, it will be an illusion for any European nation to think that it is immune to AL Qaeda’s ever increasing and rampant terrorist attacks. The author argues that the evidence that some European capitals still fall victim of AL Qaeda’s terrorist attacks despite that the European Union has continually enhanced their response to terrorism and increased their cooperation both internally and with the other nations worldwide can explain the seriousness of AL Qaeda terrorist actions. The paper reviews several articles and reports on the changing trends of terrorism and their impacts on nations’ internal security. The author has divided his literature review into thematic areas in order to explain the past, current and future trends of terrorism and the EU counterterrorism strategies. The paper also explains the impact that fight against terrorism is having on terrorist groups such as the AL Qaeda. The paper explains in detail the concept of terrorism, its changing trends and its future. The author has highlighted the importance of European countries to enhance their internal security systems in order to overcome terrorism. Therefore, this report is of great significance to my research as it provides vital information on the new trends of terrorism and offers recommendations on what the European Union should do in order to effectively respond to terrorist dealings. The main limitation of the study is that it does not establish the factors that are contributing to the changing trends of terrorism. It only explains the changing trends and offers recommendations on what European nations can do to counter terrorism. According to Robert and Louise (2007), establishing the factors that fuel terrorist activities is crucial in formulating effective strategies to counter terrorism. The author concludes by pointing that terrorism has become a serious global problem and the European Union has to invest in enhancing the strategies used in fighting it. The information contained in this paper will form a strong base for my research. Perl, R.F. (2007). “International Terrorism: Threat, Policy, and Response”. Congressional Report Service (CRS) Report for congress The report examines the international action of terrorists, the threat they pose and the policies that the US has implemented as response measures. The paper reviews the various tools that the US has at its disposal to fight terrorism such as enhancement of security measures, monetary sanctions, military force, international collaboration just to mention but a few. According to Perl, terrorism has adopted a new trend of slackly organized global networks, which are self sustained financially. The paper argues that the US is facing greater threats from Islamist groups which are using religion as a ploy. The paper has analyzed various researches in order to explain the various tools that the US has in relation to fighting terrorism. The author has also analyzed several articles to explain the various challenges that terrorism is posing to the US internal security policy makers. Therefore, the paper contains information of great significance to the topic under research. However, the paper is lacking in the sense that it does not provide the way forward for the policy makers in effectively combating terrorism. According to Bures (2011), establishing the seriousness of terrorism without recommending on what can be done in enhancing internal security does not help in combating this global disaster. Perl concludes by pointing out that terrorism has become a global phenomenon, and the US policymakers are currently facing the challenge of capitalizing on global collaboration and support without overlooking other crucial national security issues in the nation. Since my research seeks to establish how internal security can be enhanced to combat terrorism, this paper offers useful supplementary information for the topic being researched. Thomas, J.G., & Putzel, J. (2006). “Introductory article: on the discourse of terrorism, security and development”. Journal of International Development, 18(1), 51-67. The article provides an introduction of the policy field by scrutinizing the rising connection between policies concerning development and those concerning security. As Thomas and Putzel point out, foreign ministers have started viewing security and development as two inseparable entities. The paper specifically focuses on establishing the connection between these two issues in the global north since US declared war on terrorism activities. The authors reviewed several reports, articles and books to establish the changes that the US government, the all-party development agencies and the bilateral supporters have done on their approaches to development in light of the linkage between development and security. McNamara (2011) supports the article’s argument that the assimilation of security concerns into the formulation and implementation of development policies is not new since it existed in the era of Cold War. The article is of greet use in my research because it establishes the linkage between development and security issues and hence recommends how nations can design their development policies to counter terrorism. The authors conclude by pointing out that the global project of poverty reduction and security enhancement will be greatly damaged if the North views security as their guiding principle for their development. However, the article lacks in the view that it does not provide the way forward for the North in order to ensure that their development strategies do not negatively affect the global projects of eradicating poverty and enhancing security. Therefore, further research should be carried out to provide the way forward for the North in relation to development and security enhancement. The paper offers important information which will supplement my research on terrorism and internal security. Bossong, R. (2012). “Peer reviews in the fight against terrorism: A hidden dimension of European security governance”. Cooperation and Conflict 47(4), 519–538. The paper focuses on the various strategies that the European nations have implemented in fighting terrorism. The author analyzed several European Union peer reviews in the fight to eradicate terrorism. According to Bossong, peer reviews in relation to combating terrorism have been overlooked and understudied as a tool of enhancing governance of European security. First, the author discusses the common aspects of security governance and provides two diagnostic perceptions to evaluate the influence of peer reviews including conformity as well as learning. Secondly, the article examines the chronological progress as well as the influence of the EU‘s peer reviews on the terrorism fight. Bossong argues that the intial peer review that was carried following the 9/11 incident was of great significance in improving the European fight to eradicate terrorism. This paper is of great significance for the topic under research as it provides valuable information for formulating recommendations on how EU’s peer review can be used in making the fight against terrorism more successful. The article however fails to lay the way forward for the use of peer reviews in enhancing the EU’s war to mitigating terrorist activities. According to Abrahamsen (2004), the usefulness of EU’s peer reviews in enhancing counterterrorism can be doubted because these measures have remained ineffective for a long period of time. The article does not form a basis for the topic under research. However, the information that it provides will supplement the research’s information especially on the use of EU’s peer reviews as a tool to combating terrorism. Lum, C., Kennedy, L.W., & Sherley, A.J. (2006). “The effectiveness of Counter-terrorism strategies”. A Campbell Systematic Review. The authors focused on finding out the effectiveness of the strategies put in place to counter terrorism. The authors conducted their research through the use of systematic review methods to review the existing scientific literature on the topic under research. The paper focused on ways that the counterterrorism strategies can be made cost-effective in order to cut nations’ expenditures on the fight against terrorism. In their findings, the authors found out that there exists little if any evaluation of scientific research in relation to formulation of strategies to counter terrorism. The paper also argues that the evidence resulting from scientific research evaluation show that some strategies laid down to fight terrorism are ineffective and instead of reducing terrorism, there is likelihood that they may fuel terrorist activities (Abrahamsen, 2004). The paper provides very useful information to be used in my research since it evaluates the effectiveness of strategies that have been used by nations to counter terrorism. Theretofore, the information will be of great use on formulating recommendations on what should be done to improve the effectiveness of counter-terrorism measures and hence improve nations’ internal security. The main limitation of the research is that the evidence was drawn form a few scientific studies, which utilized less accurate research designs. This implies that the strength of the conclusion made from the evidence gathered has been compromised. There is therefore the need for future researches on the same topic, which will use more accurate research designs and methods in order to generate more accurate evidence in relation to the topic under investigation. The authors conclude by pointing out that the existing evidence base for enhancing interventions against terrorism and assist in policy making is weak and hence there is an urgent need to commission more researches in order to improve the effectiveness of the measures put in place to overcome terrorism. The authors recommend that scientist requires to be in process of making policies as well as evaluations in relation to the formulation and implementation of counter-terrorism measures in order to ensure they are effective. The paper contains vital information that will form the primary base for my final research paper. Conclusion From the annotated bibliography of the five articles, there is enough evidence that terrorism has remained a persistent issue across many nations. Researches have pointed out that terrorism is adopting new trends towards loosely organized terrorist groups such as the AL Qaeda, which are posing greater threat to nations compared to the traditional terrorist units. Despite the several measures taken by the EU to combat this disaster, it still remains one of the main issues affecting the development of many nations. Researchers have pointed out that development issues and security issues are inseparable. This is because insecurity leads to underdevelopment and this is the reason as to why policy makers should start viewing the two as the two sides of the same coin. Terrorism greatly affects a nations’ security and hence causes underdevelopment and this is the prime reason as to why nations should invest in ensuring that the strategies put in place to fight terrorism are effective. There is an urgent need for more research to be ordered on this topic in order to come up with evidence that will help in formulation and implementation of effective counter-terrorism measures. References Abrahamsen, R. (2004). A Breeding Ground for Terrorists? Africa and Britain’s ‘War on Terrorism’. Review of Africa Political Economy, 102, 677-684. Ashworth, A. 2007. ‘Security, Terrorism and the Value of Human Rights’, in B.J. Goold and L. Lazarus (eds), Security and Human Rights. Oxford: Hart Publishing. Barker, J. (2003). The No-Nonsense Guide to Terrorism. Verso: London. Barros, C. P. (2003). An intervention analysis of terrorism: The Spanish Eta case. Defence and Baxter, R. (1974). A Skeptical Look at the Concept of Terrorism. Akorn Law Review, 7, 380. Bossong, R. (2012). Peer reviews in the fight against terrorism: A hidden dimension of European security governance. Cooperation and Conflict, 47(4), 519–538. Bures, O. (2011). EU Counter‐Terrorism Policy: A paper tiger?. Prague: Metropolitan University. Choudhury, T., & Helen F. (2011). The Impact of Counter‐terrorism Measures on Muslim Communities, Equality and Human Rights Commission Research Report Series nr. 72. Manchester: Equality and Human Rights Commission. Coolsaet, R. (2010). ‘EU Counterterrorism Strategy: Value Added or Chimera?’, International Affairs, 8(4), 857‐873. Europol, TE‐SAT (2010). EU terrorism situation and trend report (The Hague: Europol 2010). Kaldor, M. (1999). New and Old Wars: Organized Violence in a Global Era. Polity Press: Cambridge. Lum, C., Kennedy, L.W., & Sherley, A.J. (2006). The effectiveness of Counter-terrorism strategies. A Campbell Systematic Review. Macrae, J., & Harmer, A. (eds). (2003). Humanitarian Action and the 'Global War on Terror': A review of Trends and Issues. Human Policy Group Report No. 14.Overseas Development Institute (ODI): London. McNamara, S. (2011). The EU–U.S. Counterterrorism Relationship: An Agenda for Cooperation. Backgrounder No. 2528. Published by the Heritage Foundation. Peace Economics, 14(6), 401-412. Perl, R.F. (2007). International Terrorism: Threat, Policy, and Response. Congressional Report Service (CRS) Report for congress. Robert, A. J., & Louise, R. (eds.) (2007). Democracy and Counterterrorism: Lessons from the Past. Washington: United States Institute of Peace Press. Thomas, J.G., & Putzel, J. (2006). Introductory article: on the discourse of terrorism, security and development. Journal of International Development, 18(1), 51-67. Wilkinson, P. (2005). International Terrorism: The changing threat and the EU’s response. Chaillot paper, Institute for security studies. Read More