Freedom from Fear - Volume 2009, Issue 2, 2009

Managing today’s volatile and uncertain international security environment has become an increasingly important and complicated challenge. This new and radically different international security environment means that, in addition to traditional threats to States, there are new and more insidious ones, brought by non-State actors, that pose real dangers to an increasingly interlinked and interdependent society. National governments and international organisations are urgently examining the significance of this new situation. They recognise that no State can stand alone to face these challenges. What is required are collective strategies, collective institutions, and a collective responsibility. Of equal importance, security now directly involves a broad cross-section of civil society, the private sector, economic development and human freedom.

Today’s geopolitical climate and incertitude, made more complicated by the recent economic global crisis, can only be tackled with a common policy and shared response.

It is now very rare to come across, or even to write an article on such issues like dialogue, Terrorism, and Radicalization without expanding on theoretical definitions and ideological arguments which most likely make it difficult to get any clear idea about the nature, impact and perspectives of these issues. Moreover, it gives the impression of repetition, polemics and rather useless rhetoric that we find in almost every piece of literature in this field. Since this article is no exception, we will try to limit as much as possible the notional dimensions of the issues it will tackle and stress the practical aspects of their analysis. We will not, therefore, risk any definition of ‘dialogue’ or ‘Radicalization’ but we will focus on the challenges that these two concepts raise, both on the level of understanding and their application to reality.

Mentioning security policies, young generations and globalization in the same breath might appear as an attempt to tar issues that are fundamentally different with the same brush. The reason these three issues have often been ‘lumped together’ is the underlying concern that young people might become the main actors in activities which could potentially pose a threat to security (defined as a peaceful community life), above all in urban areas such as cities.

The reconstruction of post-conflict societies requires the creation of national institutions responsible for justice, security, economic and social development.

Terrorism is a global threat. It can affect anyone, anywhere, at any time. Countering terrorism requires global coordination and global solutions. It is for this reason that Member States brought terrorism to the agenda of the United Nations more than three decades ago. The terrorist attacks of September 11th brought a new sense of urgency to the work already underway. Within weeks, the Security Council adopted a comprehensive resolution which outlined a wide-range of counterterrorism measures to be taken by all Member States. These were legally binding for all states under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. The United Nations system in turn, augmented its operational support to Member States in order to assist them in meeting these new commitments.

Last November a group of extremists attacked the historic Taj Mahal hotel located downtown in one of the most symbolic Indian city, Mumbai. The final official count put death toll at 171 bodies: a level of carnage that again raises questions surrounding the necessity of facing these kinds of threats, and whether it is concretely possible to prevent such random killings in our cities.

Addressing the threat of illicit trafficking of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) material in today’s world is different from addressing the legacy of Cold War in the Former Soviet Union. The growing nuclear energy demand, biotechnology development and pandemics will without doubt be accompanied by increased non-proliferation challenges, and in particular the threat of illicit trafficking of CBRN material. Moreover, these new threats are expanding to new regions. Therefore, the objective pursued by the European Commission, together with its partners, will be to consolidate what has already been done, in terms of assistance to countries to enhance their capabilities to prevent, detect, and respond to illicit trafficking of CBRN material, in Russia, the Balkans, Caucasus and Central Asia while expanding in the coming years into new regions of concern: South East Asia, the Middle East and some parts of Africa.

Tokyo - 35 million, Mexico City - 20 million, Sao Paulo - 19 million and Mumbai - 18 million are the world’s four biggest mega cities that have, according to UN Habitat, possibly a third or maybe even half of the population of some G8 countries. In fact, there are 163 countries with populations smaller than Mumbai.

One of the key challenges that have changed security decision-making post 9/11 has been the menace of a mass casualty event. This has regularly taken the form of synchronized terrorist incidents carried out without warning aimed at civilian targets.

Terrorism can hit anywhere at any time. They do not just strike critical infrastructure, but wherever people travel, congregate, relax, live or attend a major event. The bombings in Bali (2002), Madrid (2004), London (2005) and the latest in Mumbai (2008) are chilling reminders of this. Each of these incidents highlights the turmoil caused by terrorist attacks where the human, financial and other costs are immeasurable for individuals and entire families, businesses, corporations, communities and nations alike.