NCJ Number
218865
Journal
European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Volume: 13 Issue: 1-2 Dated: 2007 Pages: 33-55
Date Published
2007
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This article considers whether waging war can be an effective instrument in the prevention of terrorism and analyzes how the United State’s response has affected security policy and legislative projects in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Abstract
The main argument is that the United States’ proclamation of a “war on terror” increasingly seems to be the basis for depriving individuals of their personal liberties. The “war on terror” is likened to a war on evil in which combatants are not seen as deserving of fundamental rights. Indeed, the author argues that security policies that emerged following the September 11th attacks were based on psychological fear and acted as a kind of placebo for decreasing that fear. In Germany, as in the rest of the world, international terrorism is thought to be a challenge of “global and historic proportions.” The author outlines the struggles of the European Union to clarify the threat of international terrorism and how it should best be combated in our increasingly global world. In Germany and elsewhere, anti-terrorism legislation and measures are accepted with little thought as to their appropriateness and with no forecasts for their success. The author warns that there is no such thing as complete man-made security and that nation’s that abuse their power to “secure” their borders and citizens are no longer free nations. Footnotes, references