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1. Friend not Foe: Opening Spaces for Civil Society Engagement to Prevent Violent Extremism

Author:
David Cortright, Alistair Millar, Linda Gerber-Stellingwerf, George A. Lopez, Eliot Fackler, and Joshua Weaver
Publication Date:
04-2011
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Fourth Freedom Forum
Abstract:
One of the less known aspects of the tragic 9/11 events and the subsequent global war on terror is the chilling impact counterterrorism measures have had on civil society and citizens’ agency. Ten years later the phrase ‘war on terror’ is no longer used officially, but measures that curtail the operational and political freedoms of civic organizations worldwide in the name of countering terrorism continue to be real, tangible, and strongly counterproductive.The report by David Cortright et al, Friend not Foe: Opening Spaces for Civil Society Engagement to Prevent Violent Extremism, gives a comprehensive and vivid account of the challenges that civil society groups continue to face worldwide in protecting and expanding their political voice and operational space. The first edition of this report focused primarily on the e8ects of counterterrorism measures on civil society in the Global South. This updated version places the closing of civil society space in a wider global context of securitization of aid, de-funding of civil society, and civil military cooperation. It gives a crystal clear account of the persistent shift in international cooperation policy from sustainable development as an intrinsic public good to development as an instrument for national and geopolitical security and economic goals.
Topic:
Civil Society, Gender Issues, Terrorism, Violent Extremism, Sustainable Development Goals, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. Human Rights Standards for Targeted Sanctions

Author:
David Cortright and Erika de Wet
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Fourth Freedom Forum
Abstract:
Support for human rights principles is essential for sustaining political support for the fight against global terrorism. Nothing erodes support for antiterrorism measures more than the perception that such programs are eroding basic individual freedoms. Disregard for the rule of law and an overreliance on repressive measures alienates many of the social groups and political constituencies whose cooperation is needed in the collective struggle against terrorism.
Topic:
Human Rights, Terrorism, Sanctions, and Rule of Law
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. Countering Terrorism in South Asia: Strengthening Multilateral Engagement

Author:
Eric Rosand, Jason Ipe, and Naureen Chowdhury Fink
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Fourth Freedom Forum
Abstract:
Horrific acts of terrorism, such as the November 2008 attacks in Mumbai, underscore the regional nature of the terrorist threat in South Asia, and they highlight the need for greater cooperation within the region to address it. This report explores waysto strengthen such cooperation, with a particular focus on the role that the United Nations can playin this regard. It urges the United Nations to build on the international community's solidarity in the wake of terrorist attacks—such as those recently in Islamabad, Lahore, and Mumbai—to forge stronger engagement between the United Nations and SouthAsia on counterterrorism and within the region itself.
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, Terrorism, United Nations, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
South Asia, Mumbai, Islamabad, and Lahore

4. The G8's Counterterrorism Action Group May 2009

Author:
Eric Rosand
Publication Date:
05-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Fourth Freedom Forum
Abstract:
The Group of Eight (G8) leaders established the Counterterrorism Action Group (CTAG) at the 2003 Evian summit with a view to enhancing global counterterrorism capacity-building assistance and coordination activities and to reducing duplication of effort. The G8 had become increasingly dissatisfied with the slow progress of the UN Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) in trying to stimulate and help coordinate global counterterrorism capacity-building activities during the first two years of the latter's existence. Among the goals in creating the CTAG was to offer the CTC a donor forum in which to share information regarding priority assistance needs related to the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1373, with a view to identifying the appropriate donors to address each identified need. The G8 agreed to invite “other states, mainly donors,” and the CTC to join the group, which now includes Australia, the European Commission, Spain, and Switzerland.
Topic:
International Organization, Terrorism, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
Spain, Australia, and Switzerland

5. From Adoption to Action: The UN's Role in Implementing its Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy

Author:
Eric Rosand
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Fourth Freedom Forum
Abstract:
For much of the period following the attacks of September 2001, the United Nations' response to terrorism was dominated by the UN Security Council, which adopted a number of resolutions imposing a range of counterterrorism-related obligations on all member states. Perhaps the most significant of these is Resolution 1373 (2001),1 which enumerated a detailed list of obligations, such as criminalizing the financing of terrorism, freezing terrorists' assets, denying terrorists safe haven, and bringing terrorists to justice, that all member states must undertake as part of a global counterterrorism campaign, regardless of other, more pressing priorities or the perceived level of the threat. These requirements in turn generated a host of counterterrorism responses at the regional, subregional, and national levels around the globe.
Topic:
Terrorism, United Nations, and Counterinsurgency

6. Overdue Process: Protecting Human Rights while Sanctioning Alleged Terrorists

Author:
David Cortright, Alistair Millar, George A. Lopez, and Linda Gerber-Stellingwerf
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Fourth Freedom Forum
Abstract:
Practices used by the United Nations Security Council (the “Council”) in the name of countering terrorism have led to serious concerns about violations of human rights and limitations on the work of civil society groups. The use of blacklisting has eroded due process rights and discredited elements of the international fight against terrorism. Enhanced efforts to create clear and fair listing procedures are urgently needed and long overdue.
Topic:
Human Rights, Terrorism, and Counterinsurgency
Political Geography:
United Nations

7. Oversight or Overlooked? Civil Society's Role in Monitoring and Reforming Security Systems and the Practice of Counterterrorism

Author:
Alistair Millar
Publication Date:
03-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Fourth Freedom Forum
Abstract:
This report considers civil society's role in monitoring Security System Reform (SSR) and counterterrorism both in policy and in practice. The report argues that civil society engagement, particularly with local actors, is central to ensuring proper civilian oversight and the overall effectiveness of both SSR and counterterrorism efforts and examines how efforts to engage civil society may be improved.
Topic:
Security, Civil Society, Terrorism, United Nations, and Counterinsurgency

8. Toward a More Secure America: Grounding U.S. Policies in Global Realities

Author:
David Cortright, Alistair Millar, George A. Lopez, and Linda M. Gerber
Publication Date:
10-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Fourth Freedom Forum
Abstract:
This policy brief grew out of discussions with a team of former national security and foreign policy officials held at the Washington office of the Fourth Freedom Forum in the summer of 2003. The brief was written by the staff of the Fourth Freedom Forum and the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, who are solely responsible for the report's specific content. The authors incorporated numerous comments and suggestions from the policy advisers. The policy advisers listed below endorse the general thrust of this report and generally agree with the findings presented. Each participant may not, however, be in full agreement with every specific point and detail. The policy advisers listed extend their endorsement as individuals, not as representatives of any organization.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Peace Studies, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Washington

9. Hidden Costs of War

Author:
William D. Hartung
Publication Date:
03-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Fourth Freedom Forum
Abstract:
The Bush administration's war on terrorism and its proposed military intervention in Iraq have sparked the steepest increases in military and security spending in two decades. Since September 11, 2001, the federal government has approved over $110 billion in increased military spending and military aid. Spending on national defense is slated to reach $399 billion in the Fiscal Year 2004 budget, and to rise to over $500 billion annually by the end of this decade. These vast sums do not include the costs of the ongoing war in Afghanistan or a war with Iraq. Steven Kosiak of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments estimates that only 5 to 10 percent of the Fiscal Year 2003 Pentagon budget is being set aside for anti-terror activities and homeland security.
Topic:
Security, Economics, Government, Terrorism, and War
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Iraq, and Middle East