A Critical Assessment of the European Cultural Approach to Counter Terrorism
The wave of jihadism which affects western countries since 11 September 2001, has pushed governments to pass repressive legislation, which restricts the fundamental rights and freedoms. Complementing this, have been taken true warfare actions to counter this phenomenon in the countries of origin. However, little or nothing has been done to try to understand why many European actors – namely grown and often born in western countries – turned themselves into ‘lone wolves’ or ‘foreign fighters’. What drove them to embrace the religious fanaticism that leads to terrorism, and leaving their European homes to fight in the milita of the Islamic State? This essay aims to give a ‘cultural’ approach to the phenomenon of terrorism in Europe, and suggests a new holistic and comprehensive strategy to counter it.
Marco Marsili . info@marcomarsili.it
Centro de Estudos Internacionais, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (CEI-IUL) & CINAMIL (Portuguese Army Research Center)
Journalist, writer, researcher, Ph.D. candidate in History, Studies of Security and Defense at ISCTE-IUL. I focus my research on geopolitics issues, and on the legal, political and human dimension of the system of blacklisting of terrorism. Graduated in Political Sciences and International Relations and in Communication and Society both with maximum grade cum laude, I hold an Advanced Postgraduate Diploma in History, Studies of Security and Defense.