Terrorism
IPI’s work on terrorism is undertaken in the context of Coping with Crisis’ focus on transnational security challenges and the capacity of multilateral institutions to address such evolving challenges. An early strand of our work focused on supporting the development of then Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s counterterrorism strategy and the subsequent creation of the Counterterrorism Implementation Task Force (CTITF). Today, IPI continues to support the broader UN community by bringing the best international research on terrorism and counterterrorism to bear on UN policy debates. In addition, IPI uses its convening role to create informal mechanisms that support dialogue and policy development and strengthen multilateral security capacity.
Recent Activity
In November 2008, IPI and the Center on Global Counterterrorism Cooperation (CGCTC) together convened a workshop on the implementation of the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in South Asia. Over forty participants, representing UN offices, member states, and experts on, and from, South Asia, contributed to the discussions at this meeting. The resultant research paper will contribute to improving the UN’s capacity to better understand and counter transnational security challenges, strengthen the response capacities of national, regional, and international actors, and enhance counterterrorism cooperation within South Asia. The final project report will be released in early 2009. To read a summary of the workshop, click here for the background paper, click here.
On April 22, 2008, IPI collaborated with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway, to host a conference entitled “Leaving Terrorism Behind: Individual and Collective Disengagement from Violent Extremism.” Participating experts presented research from a volume of the same name, edited by Tore Bjørgo and John Horgan (Routledge 2008). The conference brought together researchers, diplomats, and practitioners, as well as contributors to the volume, to explore national strategies and programs focused on disengagement from extremist violence and deradicalization processes. The following day, IPI held a workshop in cooperation with the “1267 Committee” of the Security Council for practitioners to discuss their experiences and lessons learned, and to provide input on the ongoing work of the Committee on this subject. The IPI meeting report, “Beyond Terrorism: Deradicalization and Disengagement from Violent Extremism,” can be viewed by clicking here.
IPI continues to support the UN community by engaging in research and outreach to provide analytical input to the counterterrorism discourse and to strengthen regional and multilateral capacities to address this complex and multifaceted phenomenon. To that end, IPI’s Task Forces on Strengthening Multilateral Security Capacity included a Roundtable on Global Terrorism, which was held in May 2008. Through the Task Forces, IPI plans to develop a series of concrete and creative recommendations for institutional and policy renovation to revitalize multilateral responses to evolving transnational security challenges and armed conflict. The Task Force report from this roundtable is due for publication in early 2009.
Other initiatives under IPI’s terrorism portfolio include exploring the regional dimension of the challenge. In March 2007, IPI hosted researchers from the Consortium on Non-Traditional Security Studies in Asia to explore a number of evolving challenges in Asia, including global public health, migration, and terrorism. During that same year, an IPI-CGCTC project evaluating the Security Council’s counterterrorism mechanism culminated in a report assessing the UN Security Council’s Counterterrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) to date and providing recommendations for consideration during its mandate review in 2007. In 2006, Coping with Crisis commissioned a working paper on countering global terrorism as part of its exercise in mapping transnational security challenges.
Staff
Dr. Edward C. Luck, Senior Vice President and Director of Studies
Ms. Naureen Chowdhury Fink, Program Officer
- Naureen Chowdhury Fink with Ellie B. Hearne, rapporteurs, “Beyond Terrorism: Deradicalization and Disengagement from Violent Extremism,” (New York: International Peace Institute, October 2008).
- Eric Rosand, Alistair Miller, and Jason Ipe, “The UN Security Council’s Counterterrorism Program: What Lies Ahead?” (New York: International Peace Institute, October 2007).
- Naureen Chowdhury Fink, rapporteur, “Non-Traditional Security Challenges in Asia: What Role for Multilateralism?” (Singapore: NTS-IPA, March 5, 2007).
- Eric Rosand, “Global Terrorism: Multilateral Responses to an Extraordinary Threat,” Coping with Crisis Working Paper Series (New York: International Peace Academy, April 2007).
- William G. O’Neill, “Fighting Terrorism for Humanity: A Conference on the Roots of Evil,” conference report from “Root Causes of Terrorism,” Oslo, September 2003.
- Clara Lee, ed., “Responding to Terrorism: What Role for the United Nations?,” (New York: International Peace Academy, April 2003).
