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Africa has for a long time been embattled by differing acts of terrorism, with divergent manifestations such as suicide bombing, killings and hijacking. Accordingly, the Organisation of African Unity and subsequently the African Union took up the responsibility of developing strategies to counter the menacing trend of terrorism on the continent. To this end, several counter terrorism interventions were created. The first of Africa's interventions was developed as early as 1992, when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) member states adopted a Resolution to strengthen cooperation and coordination among African states against different manifestations of extremism. Although, there is abundance of scholarly literature on the subject of understanding of terrorism and its human rights implications and also on the impact of terrorism on political pluralism, there is a dearth of scholarly writings on the activities of the African Union in relation to terrorism in Africa, particularly on whether the Union is responding positively to its counter terrorism agenda. Yet, the role of the African Union in this regard on the continent cannot be over emphasised. This study is therefore carried out to scrutinise the counter terrorism agenda of the African Union and explore its counter terrorism activities from inception till date. In ascertaining the necessity for the African Union to develop ways to adequately implement its counter terrorism agenda, the study carries out an assessment of the agenda and established its link with the United Nations counter terrorism framework. Recommendations about how best the agenda can be realised concludes the study. Specifically, the research explores the activities of the African Union with the aim of determining whether the agenda was merely paved with good intentions. While many weaknesses of the agenda were discovered and discussed in depth, the research concludes, that despite the gap that exists between the agenda and its implementation and the problem of resources bedevilling the implementation of the agenda, it will be unfair to describe the African Union counter terrorism agenda as merely paved with good intentions in the lights of numerous positive steps that have been taken towards translating the agenda into full implementation. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted

Crowded places have been the target of terrorist attacks for many years. Their inherent nature has resulted in a vulnerability to a range of attacks, most notably the threat of vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs). Government agendas have been seeking to reduce the extent of this vulnerability, by encouraging those who are responsible for the design, construction and operation of such places to incorporate counter-terrorism measures (CTMs) into their designs, and where necessary, retro-fit them into existing places. However, little is known about what measures can be used, as well as their performance and consequences. The aim of the research is therefore to identify the aforementioned range of measures through the development of a typology that also examines their relative performance and consequences for a range of scenarios, in order to inform key decision makers who are responsible for the protection of crowded places. Through the use of a qualitative research strategy and respective research methods, interviews, site visits and document analysis were carried out in both the UK and in the USA. A total of 47 participants were recruited for the research, with the collection of data spanning 16 months. A preliminary study was undertaken that determined a range of influences on whether crowded places are protected, as well as influences on the value of CTMs themselves. A theoretical framework was developed to capture and understand those influences. Conventional data analysis methods and internal validation techniques were used to subject the data to methodological rigour, ensuring the validity and reliability of the research. While the negative consequences of incorporating CTMs can be profound, every CTM that can be used has additional benefits; measures can be incorporated at no cost and can even generate revenue; and designing-in CTMs has a number of advantages over retro-fitting them. This research s contribution to knowledge in relation to methodology, empiricism, theory, industry, and policy has resulted in the creation of a significant amount of guidance for key decision makers who are responsible for the design, construction and operation of crowded places, as well as providing data on the benefits that can be gained from incorporating mitigative measures that is of interest to those who have a role to play in the design, construction and operation of the built environment more broadly. Recommendations for further research posit that greater understanding is needed in relation to the specific monetary costs of CTMs themselves, the experience of users of protected places, the implications of invisible CTMs, and the need for research into the assessment and incorporation of proportionality into the built environment. Practical recommendations put forward the need for clarification of legislation in relation to duties of care, the dissemination of the incentives to protect, and benefits of protecting, crowded places, the need for further debate and transparency regarding proportionality and what constitutes proportionate design, and the need to encourage greater engagement between stakeholders and the means through which this can occur. The research posits that legislative requirements encompassing the mitigation of terrorist attacks are apparent, and that therefore, organisations should incorporate CTMs into vulnerable places, yet as previously indicated, such CTMs do not have to cost anything.

The EU has experienced several terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists since 2004 on its territory. Terrorism is threatening the fundamental rights that EU is based upon and has become not only a question of security but also a question of internal and external border security. This study seeks to examine the measures taken to fight terrorism by the EU and to see how terrorism has affected the security-, foreign-, and defence policies. The study is a theory consuming qualitative case study with both a descriptive and explanatory approach. The theoretical framework that the study is based on are theories about normative power, soft power and hard power but also the discussion about the external and internal security problem. The EU have taken several measures and policies in the fight against terrorism. The measures and policies are all influenced by the three theories in some way. The result of the study shows that EU has went from using only soft instruments and normative ways in the fight against terrorism towards harder instruments even if they still are using soft instruments in a harder way.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / This research will assess the counter-terrorism policy options available to Albanian authorities. As part of this investigation, it will consider the nature of the terrorism threat, review the counter-terrorism policies that have been pursued in the past, and weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the current policy. These elements will provide background for an analysis of the available policy models on the basis of four main criteria: 1) political feasibility; 2) legal and constitutional constraints; 3) foreign policy objectives and 4) effectiveness. The state policy options this study will analyze can be placed under four broad categories: a) deterrence through hard line measures including military operation and emergency powers; b) co-option and conciliation; c) pursuit of sanctuary or a passive policy; or d) deterrence via criminal justice. All these options might be plausibly implemented by Albania; indeed they have been used at different times in different countries. The working hypothesis of this investigation is that a policy based mainly on deterrence through criminal justice will be the most effective way to counter the internal threats that Albania faces while improving the countrys international standing. / Civilian, Ministry of Defense of Albania

Master of Arts - International Relations / The events of September 11 (9/11) have proved to be the catalyst for the evolution of ‘traditional’ terrorism methodologies into those of a transnational dimension. As a consequence, 9/11 has reshaped the international security community’s perceptions regarding the transnational threat of terrorism. Security analysts have called for a ‘networked’ response as the most effective strategy of defence against global terrorist networks. Hence, efforts to contain the threat of transnational terrorism will be more effective if implemented in conjunction with policies and mechanisms designed to facilitate international counter-terrorism co-operation. Therefore, taking into account the ‘perceived’ intelligence failure of 9/11, intelligence and anti-terrorism law enforcement agencies of governments committed to the ‘war against terrorism’ will need to integrate their intelligence capabilities and establish operational co-ordination on a multilateral level as an effective counter-terrorism mechanism. This research will focus on the multilateral intelligence sharing and counter-terrorism co-ordination mechanisms implemented post-9/11 by governments and International Organisations, such as the UN’s Counter Terrorism Committee and NATO’s invoking of Article 5, to contain and confront transnational terrorism. It is not within the scope of this study to analyse the reasons and ideologies behind 9/11 and modern-day terrorism.

In order to analyze the potential of a relationship between terrorist groups and state violence, this paper analyzes two case studies from Latin America - that of Sendero Luminoso, in Peru, and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (the FARC), in Colombia – and two cases from the Middle East and North Africa – that of al-Jama’a al-Islamiyya in Egypt and Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mehdi Army in Iraq. After a review of the cases and general literature on regime violence and terrorism around the world, this paper proposes a likely correlation between an increase in state violence and an escalation in the use of terrorism. The paper proposes that this correlation occurs because state violence inspires feelings of revenge among opposition groups and citizens, increases the popularity of guerrillas, decreases the popularity and legitimacy of the state, and promotes the perception that violence is both an acceptable political tool and the only option for opposition groups seeking a political voice. The findings of this study indicate that policy makers should reconsider their use of violent, repressive responses to political opposition, and should refrain from “fighting fire with fire” in order to take steps towards the eradication of terrorism around the world.

Specialised policing of critical incidents has previously been underexplored within scholarly research. Simultaneously, this type of policing has been recognised as a highly complex endeavour which hinges on an organisationalability to make sense of uncertainty and external contingencies. To build knowledge on the subject of specialised policing, the present thesis aims to explore processes of sensemaking and organising in the work context of specialised police units dedicated to the policing of high risk incidents. Two research questions have guided the thesis project viz.: 1) what ascribed meanings are coupled to specialised police unit work practice and; 2) how can organising of specialised police units be enacted in a reliable manner. These questions are empirically addressed through four part-studies: Study A amounts to a contextual literature study of previous research on specialised police units and aims at conceptual development of anomenclature describing police specialisation as a professional context. Study B in the thesis examines symbolic meanings connected to specialised police units and how such meanings relate to constructions of occupational identity of police officers working in a specialised police unit. With these studies as a contextual frame, study C within the thesis examines how leadership, management and ICT system within a specialised police unitimpacts organisational reliability and sensemaking during incident management. Finally, study D examines organisational reliability on an interpersonal level during incident management as it entails a study of collaboration between police practitioners conducting an intervention. The thesis employs a mainly ideographic and close practice approach to researchas the empirical examinations are focused upon one specific specialised police unit, namely the Swedish police’s National Counter-Terrorist Unit (NI). Using data collected through interviews, observations and archival sources, the thesis aims to contribute both to organisational developmentand to knowledge development within the scholarly community. In overview, the results of the thesis indicate that specialised policing on a level of ascribed meaning tend to be represented as exceptional, sensational and surrounded by inferences of elitism, machismo and violence. In extent, such representations inform serving police officers occupational identity workeither by spurring identification or dis-identification with prevailing accounts of meaning. On a level of organising, resilient policing of high risk incidents is shown to be dependent on an ability to favour flexibility, both through the organisational frameworks that frames incident management and in interpersonal enactment during task execution. This conclusion challenges day-to-day conceptualisation of specialised police units’ work practice as instrumental applications of coercion.

After ¡§911 Attack¡¨ in 2001, every place in the world suffered destructive attack by terrorists one after another. It caused not only heavy casualties but also a shock to the international society. Religious fanaticism and technology misuse has made terror actions be serious threat to world stability and peace. United Nations Security Council not only critically condemned terror brutalities but also appealed to every member for urgent cooperation to prevent terrorist attack together and punish those who sponsor, plan, prepare for, and support terrorists; legislation sanction against terror actions has become the common consensus of the international society. Viewing the current achievements of countering terrorism, applying military strikes invariably still cannot completely solve this problem effectively. It must trace its source through knowing what problems happened in the society and how to make the most proper adjustment to cruxes of problems by means of double examination, ¡§Efficiency¡¨ and ¡§Rationality,¡¨ plus negotiation of every aspect of politics to enact the law, which conforms to principles of economy. There were a few actions of international terrorists in our country in the past, but we must have the attitude of playing the percentages and draft policies and complete laws in advance to response. At present, our country plans to finish the draft of ¡§Counter-terrorism Act,¡¨ providing the legal foundation of punishing terror actions and plan to set up a chartered counter-terrorism institute by the government to respond to significant terrorist attack. The research of our legal system of counter-terrorism is to discuss how to reach the balance between maintaining national security and protecting human rights by following the basic theory of administrative laws¡Ðprinciple, organization, authority, remedy, and supervision as the foundation of the thesis, and citing professor DENG, Syue-liang¡¦s academic quotation theory. In the light of every research structure, the research made correct description of crucial meaning of the system and explored the merits and demerits in the course of applying the legal system with objective explanation of its administrative measures and personal cognition, and brought up suggestions for follow-up researchers as reference.

The thesis reviews and assesses the role and impact of the United Nations (UN) in the fight against the recent wave of international terrorism, understood as global jihadism, with a view to developing an understanding and awareness of the Organization&#039 / s relevance and distinct position in the global counter-terrorism campaign, while at the same time, providing insight as to how to best combat the phenomenon, through an analysis of the threat posed by al-Qaida and weighing the threat against the real and potential capabilities available at the disposal of the world body. The analysis reveals that while considerable progress has been made with respect to diminishing the organizational and operational capabilities of al-Qaida through the collective mobilization of hard or &lsquo / protective&rsquo / policy instruments in the wake of 9/11, progress has been fairly unsatisfactory in addressing the softer or &lsquo / preventive&rsquo / aspects of counter-terrorism aimed at reducing the conditions conducive to terrorism. Furthermore, while the UN offers unique capabilities in the fields of technical assistance provision and cooperation and coherence building, its efforts are severely undermined by the lack of consensus and commitment on the part of the UN member states, and to a lesser extent, by its own organizational shortcomings. Overall, the analysis of policy responses of the UN and the international community in the context of terrorism is expected to bring perspective to the future of the world organization and its evolution to assume a potentially more proactive and preventive role in dealing with the most pressing and interconnected threats to international peace and security in the early 21st century, one of which is the global jihadist movement.