Essay On Counter Terrorism

Civil Liberties and Counter Terrorism

By: Jordan Drage (301166788)

Assignment 2 - Final Draft

POL 101 W – Andrew Heard

In recent decades terrorism has fueled many global conflicts and played a pivotal role in domestic and international politics. Domestic policies to combat terrorism continue to be hotly debated worldwide as the lines between freedom and security continue to blur. With an almost propagandistic anti-terrorism message being advertised throughout much of the developed world, one must ask if any progress has been made and whether or not governments have gone too far in trying to “protect” their citizens. Examining the current landscape of terrorism; the differing definitions found in the global community; what is currently being done to combat terrorism and the sustainability of these policies, it is clear that contemporary practices must be rethought in order to remain a viable and effective means to counter terrorism while protecting basic human rights moving forward.

Modern post-colonial states have been left with artificial borders that can encompass multiple historic groups (including enemies), while other groups (ethnic, religious etc.) straddle borders and can be divided between several states, which has led to conflicting leadership, and internal nationalism. The post Cold War world has seen a decline in inter-state conflicts and a rise of intra-state conflicts. While North America and Europe regained economic stability following World War II many newer states fell to oligarchies leaving large populations of disenfranchised classes. A wave of revolutions demanding redistribution of wealth and resources flowed through Asia and South America, many of which were fiercely condemned by the West during the...

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... feasible to continue with the same security, resources and spending on counter-terrorism as has been in the past decade. More importantly the world’s citizens must be able to trust in their governments to avoid increasing civil unrest. Perhaps it is time to focus on preventative measures and begin healing as a global community. An end to political strife and violence is unforeseeable but we may be able to be as successful with a combination of preventative surveillance and community betterment with an increase in diplomatic foreign relations. Acts of terrorism have been around since the beginnings of recorded history, and likely were around before that as well. It is ignorant to assume there is some battle to be won as opposed to putting in the effort and working to lessen the effects of terrorism and perhaps more importantly simply reduce the need for terrorism.