Combating new security threats through a multilateral framework : the UN and international terrorism

Abstract

Contemporary international terrorism is testing the limits of the international security structure. It is imperative that the security threat is combated with a concerted, global effort. Theoretical and practical analyses of the notions of multilateralism and international terrorism are provided so that they may serve to inform policy discourse in the area of counterterrorism. The multilateral framework provided by the UN can serve as a conduit for this effort. To do this however, the UN must be overhauled and adjusted to the new security environment. The world organization is an inward-looking security structure designed in an age gone by - a static structure resistant to reform, based on fragmentary politics as practiced by sovereign states. Contemporary international terrorism on the other hand is forward-looking, fluid, dangerously imaginative and unconcerned with the trappings of sovereignty. The scenario is one in which the tools available at the UN for countering terrorism operate on a completely different compass than those of terrorism, and are thus increasingly incapable of coming to grips with a problem they ought to confront. The heavy political overtones which lurk over terrorism have long hindered progress on the issue, and also led scholars to lose interest in the subject. Although 9/11 vaulted the topic to the top of the international security agenda, the political stalemate soon set in again, and a purely state-based approach to tackle the problem has only rendered minimal positive results in the contemporary context.