Communities and Counterterrorism

This book highlights a wide range of community-related counterterrorism initiatives undertaken in England, Northern Ireland, and Australia.The book continues established scholarship in terrorism studies about the importance of considering communities when understanding, responding to, and preventing politically, religiously, and other ideologically motivated violence. Terrorists are in competition with communities and sociopolitical-religious movements for proactive and passive support for their causes, membership, and resources. The book is particularly relevant in the aftermath of a series of jihadist terror attacks, alongside terror acts committed by far-right extremists. There has been an increased emphasis upon the role of communities in combatting terrorism, with ‘Communities can defeat terrorism’ becoming a well-known mantra.This book was originally published as a special issue of Studies in Conflict & Terrorism.

Introduction - Community-Based Counterterrorism 1. The Role of Communities in Counterterrorism: Analyzing Policy and Exploring Psychotherapeutic Approaches within Community Settings 2. Campaigning on Campus: Student Islamic Societies and Counterterrorism 3. Police and Community Cooperation in Counterterrorism: Evidence and Insights from Australia 4. Community-Led Counterterrorism 5. Community-Based Counterterrorism Policing: Recommendations for Practitioners 6. "Doing Peace": The Role of Ex-Political Prisoners in Violence Prevention Initiatives in Northern Ireland 7. U.K. Foreign Fighters to Syria and Iraq: The Need for a Real Community Engagment Approach

Basia Spalek is a Professorof Conflict Transformation at the University of Derby, UK. She has undertaken extensive and in-depth research into community-based approaches to counterterrorism, including community policing initiatives, mentoring, and deradicalisation interventions. She is a British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)accredited psychotherapist at the University of Leicester Counselling Service, UK, and also has her own private practice.Douglas Weeks is a Lecturer at California State University, Long Beach, USA, and a Visiting Research Fellow at London Metropolitan University, UK. He specialises in radicalisation, deradicalisation, counterterrorism policing, and counterterrorism policy. Within those fields, his research has broadly centred on the convergence of counterterrorism policy delivered by public safety agencies, and how mainstream and radicalised individuals respond.