Terrorism, Counterterrorism and Conflict Resolution - Building Bridges

Terrorism, Counterterrorism and Conflict Resolution: Building Bridges 

INTRODUCTION  For decades, conflicts involving terrorist violence were considered beyond the realm of conflict resolution practices such as conflict prevention, peacemaking through negotiations and dialogue, and peacebuilding and reconciliation. Terrorism was a form of violence that policymakers believed could only be countered through law and order or military responses.  Recently however there has been an increasing interest from governments and academics alike in the potential for conflict resolution practices in terrorist conflicts. Examining successful examples such as the peace process in Northern Ireland or in South Africa has become a key part of the study of contemporary terrorism. This research project aims to offer an analysis of how conflict prevention, peacemaking, and peacebuilding frameworks can be applied to conflicts marked by terrorist violence based on rare primary research undertaken by the author and an in depth analysis of the growing research on these ques- tions.  As will become evident throughout this report, examining the potential for a conflict resolution approach to terrorism does not only mean examining the potential of policy responses that have so far largely been ignored, but also means adopting an approach to terrorist violence grounded in conflict analysis and conflict resolution perspectives.  Prior to examining what this entails (in Section 3), it is important to first discuss what is meant by “conflict resolution.” This report understands conflict resolution as “formulating, applying and testing structures and practices for preventing, managing, ending and transforming violent and destructive conflict” (Ramsbotham, Woodhouse and Miall, 2011: 62). It thus includes three phases: conflict prevention, which aims to avoid violence; peacemaking, which is aimed at stopping the violence without entrenching the underlying causes of the violence; and peacebuilding which aims to “produce an environment that ensures security, justice, and well-being for all, and one in which conflict resolution can be self-sustaining” (Bercovitch and Jackson, 2009: 89).  

Harmonie Toros is lecturer in International Conflict Analysis at the University of Kent and mem- ber of the Conflict Analysis Research Group. Her research lies at the crossroad between conflict resolution and terrorism studies. She has published works developing a critical theory-based approach to terrorism and examining the transformation of conflicts marked by terrorist vio- lence. Following a BA in Contemporary History (Sussex) and a Maîtrise in History (Paris IV- Sorbonne), she worked as reporter and editor for major international news agencies (The Associated Press and Agence France-Presse) for eight years in Turkey, Italy, France, and the United States, before returning to academia in 2003. She completed her PhD at the Department of International Politics of Aberystwyth University in 2010. She has lectured at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, and the University of Queensland, Australia. She is the author of Terrorism, Talking and Transformation: A Critical Approach (Routledge, 2012), editor of Researching Terrorism, Peace and Conflict Studies: Interaction, Synthesis and Opposition (Routledge, 2015), and is an editor of the journal Critical Studies on Terrorism.   Download PDF