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15 April 2009
GPPi Research Associate presents paper on EU counterterrorism policy at LSE
GPPi Research Associate Raphael Bossong presented a paper on EU counterterrorism policy at the conference entitled 'Europe and the World: The Changing Landscape of Liberty and Security in the European Union’s External Relations’ , held at the London School of Economics and Political Science on 2-3 April 2009 . The conference presented part of the conclusions of the international collaborative research program CHALLENGE on European security policy that was funded under the sixth framework research program of the European Commission. The conference was designed with an emphasis on fostering dialogue between academics and practitioners in this issue area.
Bossong paper, entitled “The EU’s mature counterterrorism policy. A critical assessment”, gave a wide-ranging historical overview on the development of EU counterterrorism policy before focusing on a critical functional overview according to the objectives of the EU Counterterrorism Strategy. He argued that measures ‘to pursue’, and ‘to protect’ against, terrorists have grown substantially, but they have been undercut by a lack of focus and use at the operational level. Similarly, formal capacities ‘to respond’ to terrorism have been boosted but there are doubts as to their relevance in real crisis situations. Most importantly the EU has remained unable to do more ‘to prevent’ terrorism. This has undermined the overall effectiveness and output legitimacy of the EU’s counterterrorism policy. Moreover, the increasing technological drift in this policy area has given rise to significant normative concerns.
The panel continued with a paper on the international fight against the financing of terrorism by William Vclek of the University of London, before engaging in an intensive discussion on the difficulties of assessing effective counterterrorism policies and the EU’s contested role as a security actor. Discussants included Dr. Bastian Giegerich from the International Institute of Strategic Studies and Hugo Brady from the Centre for European Reform, while Peter Neumann, Director of the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence at King’s College London, provided additional insights as panel chair.
To view the conference agenda please click here.
For more information please contact Raphael Bossong