The Resolve Network

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26 October 2022 / Tanya Mehra & Julie Coleman
The Role of the UN Security Council in Countering Terrorism & Violent Extremism: The Limits of Criminalization?
After the 9/11 attacks, a united global community entered an era which saw the proliferation of United Nations entities and organs focused on responding to terrorism. These bodies were created, at least in part, in response to the recognized need for a comprehensive multilateral counter-terrorism architecture to ensure international peace and security in the face of the growing specter of violent extremism. This response has notably also included an array of UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) adopted to counter the threat of terrorism. A little over 20 years after the adoption of Resolution 1373 (2001), 52 terrorism related resolutions now exist, creating an elaborate set of measures for Member States to implement. Despite this, however, terrorism was arguably more prevalent in 2021 than in 2001. A myriad of factors have led to the continued spread of terrorism, including the increasingly transnational nature of terrorists and terrorist networks, as well as the failure to adequately address the structural factors and underlying conditions that are conducive to the spread of violent extremism. In order to explain its persistence, one must not only examine the continued appeal of terrorist groups and violent extremist ideology and propaganda, but also reflect upon where, how, and why counter-terrorism responses have often failed to reduce the threat or, in some cases, even exacerbated the factors which give rise to terrorism in the first place. This includes the response of the Security Council, whose resolutions have created the obligation or expectation for Member States to continuously expand the criminalization of terrorism, without evidence that such an approach will lead to less terrorism. This brief focuses on how some UNSCRs include measures that require Member States to criminalize conduct that has historically fallen within the pre-crime space and lacks a clear link to terrorist activities, and examines the subsequent impact this has on human rights and the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. At the same time, it explores the role that States themselves have played in the exceptionalization of terrorism in terms of criminal justice responses. Finally, it offers recommendations for both the UNSC and Members States on how to ensure that counter-terrorism architecture can both be human-rights based and simultaneously conducive to promoting peace and security.   This research brief is the fourth in a series commissioned by the Securing the Future Initiative (SFI) and published by the RESOLVE Network. SFI is co-led by the Fourth Freedom Forum and The Soufan Center, with funding provided by generous support from the European Union, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Launched in September 2021, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, SFI is conducting the first-ever independent review and assessment of the United Nations Security Council’s counterterrorism activities. Suggested citation:  Mehra, Tanya and Julie Coleman. The Role of the UN Security Council in Countering Terrorism & Violent Extremism: The Limits of Criminalization?. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2022. https://doi.org/10.37805/sfi2022.4. 
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27 October 2022 / Teuta Avdimetaj
Interacting with Trauma: Considerations and Reflections from Research in Kosovo
This chapter explores the role of trauma in violent extremism research, offering insights on its effects on the research process, providing insights on the radicalization process of individual cases, and informing reintegration prospects of returning foreign fighters and their family members. The chapter focuses on war-related trauma as a widespread experience in post-conflict societies, which may persist years after the war ends, scarring societies in numerous ways for generations and potentially creating an ongoing cycle of violence. The chapter begins with a brief overview of the available literature on the link between trauma and radicalization while bringing attention to existing gaps within this field. It then continues with insights from field research in Kosovo on how trauma was expressed among the family members of foreign fighters, including women returnees from the conflict zones in Syria and Iraq, and provides insight into how the author approached the subject in her own research.   Suggested Citation: Teuta Avdimetaj, Interacting with Trauma: Considerations and Reflections from Research in Kosovo, Washington, DC: RESOLVE Network, 2022. 
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17 October 2022 / Sif Heide-Ottosen, Yahye Abdi, Abdullahi Ahmed Nor, James Khalil, & Martine Zeuthen
Journeys through Extremism: The Experiences of Former Members of Al-Shabaab
This research report applies the Attitudes-Behaviors Corrective (ABC) Model of Violent Extremism to map personal journeys in and out of al-Shabaab, the al-Qaeda affiliate operating in Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa. The ABC Model provides a framework through which to analyze individual trajectories in relation to sympathy for and actual involvement in violent extremism. The study was designed to deliver key insights for policy and practice by revealing the extent to which these journeys vary between respondents. The ABC Model was also designed as a platform through which to explore drivers of attitudinal and behavioral change, offering a granular understanding of the processes of joining and leaving the group.  This report features the findings from interviews with thirteen ex-members of the group, including those from its intelligence agency (the Amniyat), military wing (the Jabhat), and police force (the Hizbah), as well as drivers, teachers, and others in support roles. These findings provide important considerations for the design of interventions to prevent further involvement and to facilitate disengagements from the group, including recommendations for communications campaigns, rehabilitation services, and the relevance of territorial control.   Suggested citation: Heide-Ottosen, Sif, Yahye Abdi, Abdullahi Ahmed Nor, James Khalil, & Martine Zeuthenn, Journeys through Extremism: The Experiences of Former Members of Al-Shabaab. Washington, DC: RESOLVE Network, 2022. https://doi.org/10.37805/cbags2022.3.
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6 October 2022 / Jessica White
Consensus vs. Complexity: Challenges of Adaptability for the UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Framework & the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda
United Nations (UN) counter-terrorism (CT) policies are challenged by the emergence and resurgence of different threat profiles on the security horizon because its response framework is focused on one type of terrorism and violent extremism (T/VE) threat. As there is increasing focus on the threat of extreme right-wing T/VE in the current social and political context in the West, for example, the challenges of adaptability and transferability become apparent. This is often due to the lack of flexibility and nuance of the conversation around CT at the UN level. This same lack of consideration for complexity can be exemplified through the case of the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda and the subsequent application of gender mainstreaming strategies.  The WPS agenda was introduced with UNSC Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 in 2000 and developed over the next two decades with the adoption of nine follow-on resolutions. The increasing visibility of the impacts of terrorist groups on women and girls, and the articulation by some groups of a strategy that specifically targeted gender equality or utilized narratives promoting the subjugation of women, created greater momentum to push for the integration of the WPS and CT agendas, reflected most significantly in UNSCR 2242. However, even with this necessary focus on the protection and empowerment of women in the peace and security space, there has often been a more limited policy conversation around the wider gender perspective and analysis needed to effectively implement gender mainstreaming strategies. There needs to be increased attention given to understanding how socio-culturally defined gender roles and expectations impact how and why every individual engages with T/VE. Additionally, research is needed on how the wider gender equality goal of gender mainstreaming strategies can be implemented  This research brief examines the adaptability and transferability of the last two decades of UN CT legal and policy frameworks and architecture to the evolving threat landscape.  This research brief is the third in a series commissioned by the Securing the Future Initiative (SFI) and published by the RESOLVE Network. SFI is co-led by the Fourth Freedom Forum and The Soufan Center, with funding provided by generous support from the European Union, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Launched in September 2021, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, SFI is conducting the first-ever independent review and assessment of the United Nations Security Council’s counterterrorism activities. Suggested citation:  White, Jessica. Consensus vs. Complexity: Challenges of Adaptability for the UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Framework & the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2022. https://doi.org/10.37805/sfi2022.3.

Research Briefs

Tanya Mehra & Julie Coleman

26 October 2022

The Role of the UN Security Council in Countering Terrorism & Violent Extremism:...

After the 9/11 attacks, a united global community entered an era which saw the proliferation of United Nations entities and organs focused on responding to terrorism. These bodies were created, at least in part, in response to the recognized need for a comprehensive multilateral counter-terrorism architecture to ensure international peace and security in the face of the growing specter of violent extremism. This response has notably also included an array of UN Security Council resolutions (UNSCRs) adopted to counter the threat of terrorism. A little over 20 years after the adoption of Resolution 1373 (2001), 52 terrorism related resolutions now exist, creating an elaborate set of measures for Member States to implement. Despite this, however, terrorism was arguably more prevalent in 2021 than in 2001. A myriad of factors have led to the continued spread of terrorism, including the increasingly transnational nature of terrorists and terrorist networks, as well as the failure to adequately address the structural factors and underlying conditions that are conducive to the spread of violent extremism. In order to explain its persistence, one must not only examine the continued appeal of terrorist groups and violent extremist ideology and propaganda, but also reflect upon where, how, and why counter-terrorism responses have often failed to reduce the threat or, in some cases, even exacerbated the factors which give rise to terrorism in the first place. This includes the response of the Security Council, whose resolutions have created the obligation or expectation for Member States to continuously expand the criminalization of terrorism, without evidence that such an approach will lead to less terrorism. This brief focuses on how some UNSCRs include measures that require Member States to criminalize conduct that has historically fallen within the pre-crime space and lacks a clear link to terrorist activities, and examines the subsequent impact this has on human rights and the effectiveness of the criminal justice system. At the same time, it explores the role that States themselves have played in the exceptionalization of terrorism in terms of criminal justice responses. Finally, it offers recommendations for both the UNSC and Members States on how to ensure that counter-terrorism architecture can both be human-rights based and simultaneously conducive to promoting peace and security.   This research brief is the fourth in a series commissioned by the Securing the Future Initiative (SFI) and published by the RESOLVE Network. SFI is co-led by the Fourth Freedom Forum and The Soufan Center, with funding provided by generous support from the European Union, the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs. Launched in September 2021, on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, SFI is conducting the first-ever independent review and assessment of the United Nations Security Council’s counterterrorism activities. Suggested citation:  Mehra, Tanya and Julie Coleman. The Role of the UN Security Council in Countering Terrorism & Violent Extremism: The Limits of Criminalization?. Washington, D.C.: RESOLVE Network, 2022. https://doi.org/10.37805/sfi2022.4. 

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