Prior to beginning work on this assignment, read the required resources for the week, including the United Nations (UN) Action to Counter Terrorism website, the European Union (EU) counter-terrorism policy website, and the EU Counter-terrorism strategy website. To check your understanding of the material required for this assignment, you may wish to access the quizzes and flash card activities on the companion website for the Martin (2016) text.
It is easy to look at counterterrorism policy from our own perspective. But in reality, there are a variety of perspectives from sovereign nations, and those perspectives differ in terms of how nations should address and respond to terrorism. In this week’s assignment, you will examine terrorism from an international perspective. You will also look at both the European Union and the United Nations counterterrorism strategies. In 2006, the United Nations developed a Counterterrorism Strategy designed to:
…enhance national, regional and international efforts to counter terrorism. This is the first time that all Member States have agreed to a common strategic approach to fight terrorism, not only sending a clear message that terrorism is unacceptable in all its forms and manifestation, but also resolving to take practical steps individually and collectively to prevent and combat it. (2016)
The European Union Counterterrorism Strategy states, “Terrorism poses a serious threat to all States and to all peoples. In response to this, the European Union has established a counter-terrorism strategy, based on prevention, protection, pursuit and response (2016).”
The United States played a central role in formulating this policy following the attacks against the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001. There are similarities between both the U.N. and the E.U. counter-terrorism strategies, and, in some respects, the E.U. strategy implements key tenants of the U.N. strategy. Utilizing your knowledge and research of counterterrorism strategies, develop a proposal to revise either the U.N. or E.U. counter terrorism strategy to make it more effective, or, if you believe the current strategy is effective, clearly support your position.
The following elements must be addressed as part of your The International Counterterrorism Strategy Proposal
Compare and contrast the U.N. and E.U. counterterrorism strategies. Clearly summarize the major tenants of the two strategies and how they support each other. Explain whether or not there are significant ethical and legal differences between the two organizations’ strategies. Provide your assessment of the effectiveness of legal and ethical tools to enforce compliance with the stated counterterrorism strategies. Based on your knowledge and research of the tactics, techniques, and capabilities of terrorist organizations, draw conclusions on how effective the tools available to the UN or the EU are to counterterrorism and bring pressure to bear to counter international terrorism. Succinctly defend your reasoning behind your strategy proposal. The International Counterterrorism Strategy Proposal:
Must be three to five pages in length (excluding the title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. Must include a separate title page with the following: Title of paper Student’s name Course name and number Instructor’s name Date submitted Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement. A thesis must be in both the introduction and the conclusion. Must use at least four scholarly or official government sources in addition to the course textbooks to support your claims and sub claims. At least two sources must be from the Ashford University Library. Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.