Jessie Blackbourn

A decade on from 11 September 2001:: What has critical terrorism studies learned?

The articles in this special issue are drawn from papers presented at a conference held to mark the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The conference, entitled A Decade of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism since 9/11: Taking Stock and New Directions in Research and Policy, was organised by the Critical Studies on Terrorism Working Group of the British International Studies Association and was held at the University of Strathclyde with support from the British Academy from 8 to 11 September 2011. The conference aimed to play a significant role in the reorientation of terrorism studies towards a more empirically informed and theoretically sophisticated practice of studies of political violence through the engagement of scholars in a multidisciplinary dialogue. The articles in this issue reflect those aims.

The evolving definition of terrorism in UK law

This article argues that academic debates on how and why terrorism is defined should not be reserved solely for abstract discussions about concepts of power, legitimacy and subjectivity, but should also include empirical, interdisciplinary case studies. Through the examination of UK legislation, debates of the Houses of Parliament and government commissioned reports and consultation papers, this article will demonstrate that a critical analysis of a particular case study can address some of the questions raised by philosophical debates on the definition of terrorism: how is terrorism defined? Who defines terrorism and why? What accounts for changing interpretations of what constitutes a terrorist or a terrorist organisation? Is there a single definition of terrorism that is acceptable to all societies? By examining how and why the definition of terrorism has evolved in UK law over the twentieth and twenty‐first centuries, this article adds an empirical dimension to the academic debate on definitions of terrorism and presents the case that interdisciplinary studies of terrorism will greatly advance academic understandings of the field.

Interdiction and Indoctrination: The Counter‐Terrorism and Security Act 2015

Lying behind the recent Counter‐Terrorism and Security Act 2015 is the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters which has sparked international and national attention. The 2015 Act deals with many facets of counter terrorism legislation, but its two principal measures are singled out for analysis and critique in this paper. Thus, Part I of the Act seeks to interdict foreign terrorist fighters by preventing suspects from travelling and dealing decisively with those already in the UK who pose a risk. Part V of the Act implements the second, broader aspect, of legislative policy, reflecting the UN emphasis on ‘Countering Violent Extremism’, through the statutory elaboration and enforcement of the ‘Prevent’ element of the long‐established Countering International Terrorism strategy, which aims to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting violent extremism. These measures are explained in their policy contexts and set against criteria of effectiveness, personal freedom, and accountability.

The UK's anti-terrorism laws: does their practical use correspond to legislative intention?

Abstract This article argues that the UKs anti-terrorism laws have, for the most part, been tailored to a particular terrorist threat. In the twentieth century, the main threat to the UK was from Northern Irish terrorism. In the twenty-first century, the threat has predominantly emanated from international terrorism. This article argues that the laws enacted to counter those threats contain specific types of measures which are designed for, and most effectively applied against, one or other type of terrorism, but not both. Despite general concerns about the potential slippage of laws from one terrorism context to another, or about the normalisation of anti-terrorism laws into the ordinary criminal law, this article reveals that laws specifically tailored to suit one particular type of terrorism do not often ‘slip’ in their actual usage to other forms of terrorism. Instead, they are used to counter the particular terrorist threat for which they were designed. This should not, however, be taken as an endorsement of the laws.1

International Terrorism and Counterterrorist Legislation: The Case Study of Post-9/11 Northern Ireland

Since September 11, 2001 the threat from international terrorism has led to a greatly increased programme of counterterrorism legislation from the British government, yet it has contradictorily introduced legislation aimed at normalizing society in Northern Ireland. Prime Minister Tony Blair led the way in proclaiming differences between terrorism related to Northern Ireland and terrorism that is international in scope in order to create and enact a two-tier system of terrorism legislation in the United Kingdom. This article will examine Blairs decade in power and his role in distinguishing between, and legislating differently for, the two forms of terrorism.

Anti-Terrorism Law and Foreign Terrorist Fighters

This book evaluates whether the new legislation introduced in Australia and the UK is, in fact, necessary, appropriate, and effective at dealing with the foreign fighters phenomenon. It will be of value to academics and students who teach, research, and study the ever-evolving area of anti-terrorism law and counter-terrorism policy and of interest to academic scholars and students in a number of fields including law, comparative politics and government, and terrorism and security studies.