Countering Terrorism in Britain and France
Institutions, Norms and the Shadow of the Past

Frank Foley presents the first in-depth comparative analysis of counterterrorist operations in two leading liberal democracies.

Frank Foley (Author)

9781107484153, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 1 January 2015

352 pages, 3 b/w illus.
23 x 15.4 x 2 cm, 0.52 kg

'Countering Terrorism [in Britain and France] is the product of extraordinarily high-quality scholarship. Outstanding interview material - though often unidentified, for ethical reasons - is blended with a tight theoretical frame to produce an account that is persuasive and powerful.' Stuart Croft, European Political Science

Though Britain and France have faced a similar threat from Islamist terrorism in the years following September 11 2001, they have often responded in different ways to the challenges it posed. This groundbreaking work offers the first in-depth comparative analysis of counterterrorist policies and operations in these two leading liberal democracies. Challenging the widely held view that the nature of a state's counterterrorist policies depends on the threat it is facing, Foley suggests that such an argument fails to explain why France has mounted more invasive police and intelligence operations against Islamist terrorism than Britain and created a more draconian anti-terrorist legal regime. Drawing on institutional and constructivist theories, he develops a novel theoretical framework that puts counterterrorism in its organisational, institutional and broader societal context. With particular appeal to students and specialists of International Relations and Security Studies, this book will engage readers in the central debates surrounding anti-terrorist policy.

Introduction
1. Terrorist campaigns and threat perceptions
2. Legacies of history: norms, institutions and routines
3. Co-ordinating counterterrorism: intelligence, police and prosecution
4. Justice for suspected terrorists?
5. Operations: tackling Islamist terrorism and its supporters
Conclusion
Appendix: list of interviews.

Subject Areas: Terrorism, armed struggle [JPWL], International relations [JPS], Comparative politics [JPB]