poli sci 333 - impact of terrorism

study for poli sci 333 final

what is the essence of terrorism?

• terrorism is not just about killing, it is about impact

• terroroists want a lot of people watching, not just a lot people dead

• violent communication process

• attacks are means to an end

what are the two pillars of counterterrorism?

first pillar - countering terrorists, domain of the professionals: military, police, intelligence

second pillar - countering the mechanism of the terrorists, domain of everyone

how do we respond to attacks?

sense-making —→ decision making —→ meaning-making —→ terminating the crisis —→ learning

what does meaning-making mean?

• universal concept

• “what does it mean to us?“

• important role of meaning-making after terrorist attacks

four attacks in western europe by jihadists

• brussels in 2016: 33 casualties

• nice in 2016: 87 casualties

• berlin 2016: 12 casualties

• manchester in 2017: 22 casualties

all either inspired by jihadists or done by jihadists groups

brussels attack

authorities response:

• no surprise

• fragmented response

• blame games

• king played important role during commemoration

citizens response:

• beursplein as citizen commemoration site

• march against fear cancelled: hooligans came to beursplein

nice attack

authorities response:

• france at war with is, state-led commemoration efforts

• little room for initiatives citizens, but they could participate

citizens response:

• important role victim organisation/participation in state-led efforts

• polarisation and discussion about role state; why is it happening again? why was boulevard not protected more?

berlin attack

authorities response:

• ceremony in church on breitscheidplatz; many families were not able to attend bc of location

• services in parliament

• main role for pastor

citizens response:

• a lot of protests going on, five going at the same time asp

  • far-right: was prime minsters fault; far-left: get nazis out of the country

manchester attack

authorities response:

• memorial service in church

• clear role for the city in manchester

• mayor walking around and thanking volunteers

• cooperation btwn authorities and citizens

citizens response:

• local initiatives

• lack of political message

• pride and resillience: focusing on locals symbols and heritage to bring together city community

• yellow, manchester bee i love mcr

• one love manchester

five main findings

1. terrorists quickly pushed “off stage“

2. a mix of well-choreographed performances and chaotic stage fights/blame games lack of political coordination

3. varying degrees of solidarity and polarization

4. importance of anniversaries and reclaiming public space marked by terrorists by the citizens

5. citizens showed restraint more frequently than authorities did: politicians were mainly overreacting while citizens called for solidarity at risk of polarization

lessons for counterterrorism

• prepare to balance juxtaposing goals that could lead to policy dilemmas

  • e.g. reopening at risk spaces while balancing resilience but also reacting to what has happened

• pay more attention to the symbolic dimension of the response

  • e.g. no visits were paid to victims by prime minister, just be there and show empathy

• increase cooperation between authorities and citizens in organizing the responses

• be cognizant of the risk of copying the terrorists’ frames

  • make sure impact of terrorists is not overblown in state’s response

so how to counter terrorism? final thoughts

• enable individuals and communities through self-efficacy

• citizens want to do something