Counterterrorism in Europe: Discord and Disorder

Abstract

Many experts underscore a firm difference between American and European approaches to combating terrorism. Other scholars contend that, since 9/11, European governments have emulated the USA by “securitizing” immigration and trampling on the civil and human rights of immigrants of Muslim heritage. Still other analysts discern within Europe distinct national styles of counterterrorism such as French assimilation and deportation versus British multiculturalism and conciliation. This chapter challenges the empirical veracity of such theories, labeled here “methodological nationalism,” “European exceptionalism” and “transatlantic convergence.” Instead, a comparative analysis of policies of the European Union, Germany, France, and the UK reveals a jumble of ethically inconsistent and practically contradictory measures.

An earlier version of this article appeared as “Counterterrorism in Europe: The Elusive Search for Order,” European Security 23, no. 3 (2016): 366–384.