Abstract
This study argues that terrorist violence is a serious form of crime and should be treated as such, applying the full repertoire of crime prevention mechanisms and measures. The Introduction outlines the theoretical model, consisting of nine different preventive mechanisms. To serve as a basis for crime prevention strategies, we need to specify these generic mechanisms for each particular crime type, asking: what kinds of measures can be used to activate these mechanisms, who will be the principal actors in charge of implementing the measures, and who are the target groups for the measures. And further, what are the strengths and weaknesses, as well as the limitations and side effects, of the various measures used to activate the preventive mechanisms. In the following chapters, this model of crime prevention is applied to the crime type terrorism.
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Notes
One striking example of how means can become a goal in themselves is the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Foreign Policy Strategy for Combating International Terrorism (Utenriksdepartementet 2006), a document that lists everything Norway is doing in the international arena in this field (including ratifying a long series of counter-terrorism conventions and various forms of aid). However, it is very difficult to discern a clear strategic idea in this strategy document. The unanswered question is: how will everything Norway is doing help reduce the problems associated with terrorism? In politics, it is apparently more important to show that something is being done than the actual effects of these actions.
See Beatrice de Graaf’s (2011) excellent study Evaluating Counterterrorism Performance: A Comparative Study for a thorough analysis of what kinds of successes and impacts different counter-terrorist policies have produced in four different case studies (from the Netherlands, the Federal Republic of Germany, the USA and Italy).
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© 2013 Tore Bjørgo
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Bjørgo, T. (2013). Introduction. In: Strategies for Preventing Terrorism. Palgrave Pivot, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137355089_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137355089_1
Publisher Name: Palgrave Pivot, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-47006-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-35508-9
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