Security and Anti-Terror Policy

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The Cold War era, which divided the world into a bipolar constellation of states with clearly defined "friends" and "enemies," was terminated by two mega-events: the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989 and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The demise of traditional lines of conflict and the rise of new threats like religiously motivated terrorism changed the security needs of nation states in the western hemisphere as well as in the eastern part of the world. Supranational organizations like the United Nations and NATO are still seeking a redefined role in the world and new strategies for dealing with these new international threats. The novel challenge that nation states are facing in the area of Security and Anti-Terror Policy could be described as "asymmetric warfare."

On the one hand, very small cells of global terrorist networks are increasingly able to inflict huge damage on the public sphere by executing precisely organized attacks. On the other, traditional security policies of single nation states are increasingly bumping up against their own boundaries. This constriction requires new approaches to supranational cooperation on the part of security and intelligence agencies. Yet it also requires new forms of development aid for the world's less developed countries which are often the breeding ground for fanaticism. A lack of educational opportunities, poor healthcare services, corruption, high unemployment rates and very low wages all strengthen radical forces in such societies. Against this background and in light of developments like global warming and the worldwide food crisis, we might ask whether terrorism really is the main threat that mankind faces in the future. Or could it not rather be that the starvation confronting millions of people might lead to an implicit war between the northern and the southern hemispheres? Conversely, could the Internet prove to be a solution-generating technology that promotes appreciation between people in the western industrialized states and those in less developed countries? These questions show that Security and Anti-Terror Policy must be considered in all of its interpenetrating aspects.

Correlations/Crosslinks

Correlations/Crosslinks - Security and Anti-Terror Policy