Spokes of a wheel: The cooperative response of government and civil society to international terrorism in Indonesia, Russia, Spain, Turkey and the United States

This study investigates the extent to which terrorist bombings against innocent civilians since September 11, 2001 provide the impetus for a domestic and international civil societal debate and reassessment of their moral acceptability. Another main purpose is to assess the ability of the state and civil society to mount an effective international cooperative response under the leadership of the United Nations and its Counter Terrorism Committee. Ethan Nadelmann argues that international cooperation designed to reduce any undesirable activity will only be effective with (1) the creation of a comprehensive global regime designed to stop the activity, and (2) sufficient support from cooperative governments, civil society and individual moral entrepreneurs to prevent its regeneration on the local level. Without each level of support, a "gap" develops between response and implementation and the undesirable activity often continues.; A content and thematic analysis yielded a far greater international cooperative governmental and civil societal response than I had anticipated. Russia, Spain and the United States provide substantial international leadership, vibrant civil societies in Spain and Indonesia rise up in debate and protest, and each of the five countries make significant strides to modify their foreign policies, expand cooperation designed to stop terrorists worldwide, and enact domestic laws to try them within the legal system.; Yet the study finds this response to be inadequate. Each state requires the catalyst of a devastating attack to spur action, and even afterwards national responses are often inconsistent and overshadowed by domestic politics, competition for domestic and international issue leadership, and thwarted by the insular views of individuals. Even among front-line states, legal systems and civil societies are underdeveloped and each country is still attempting to determine its own societal balance between security and democracy. Both moral and cooperative factors are needed to catalyze society to bring about these fundamental changes. A moral component, described as "a deliberate, graphic attack against innocent citizens that exceeds a subjective national threshold for violence" needs to be complemented by a cooperative component in which national and international leadership, strong legal systems and coordinated cooperation deprives such actors from carrying out unacceptable acts.