6. Counter-Terrorism

In this chapter, Mullins draws upon interviews with a variety of practitioners working in counter-terrorism (CT) and immigration, as well as NGO workers and a recent refugee, to provide a critical assessment of European CT. The chapter begins by identifying key developments in CT, ranging from capacity building measures in the “hotspots” in Greece and Italy to the development of tailored intervention programmes aimed at preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE). This is followed by a discussion of challenges in this particular area of CT, which include a lack of information on foreign nationals, difficulties in information sharing, and dealing with large amounts of unreliable and misleading information. The chapter concludes with policy recommendations organized into the following themes: international and interagency information sharing and cooperation; human intelligence and tip-offs; outreach; databases; capacity building; criminal and administrative sanctions; reducing vulnerabilities to radicalization; and putting CT in context.