From 02-06 December 2024, Susan Sim, TSC Senior Research Fellow, and Stephanie Foggett, TSC Research Fellow, participated as lecturers at a NATO Center of Excellence Defence Against Terrorism (COE-DAT) course in Ankara, Türkiye. The residential course on ‘Efficient Crisis Management to Mitigate the Effects of Terrorist Activities’ explored the intersection between counter terrorism and crisis management, understanding acts of terrorism as a type of crisis and with implications for the crisis management process. The course was attended by military officers, law enforcement officials, and civilian equivalents from across NATO member and partner countries.
Susan Sim delivered lectures on ‘Developing National Counter Terrorism Policy as a Crisis Management Tool’ and ‘Cross Governmental Cooperation in Crisis Management of Terrorist Incidents.’ She noted that many national counter-terrorism policies are designed to prevent “the last major attack,” meaning that there can be blind spots as countries often focus on limited manifestations of terrorism while failing to account for the diversity of forms terrorism can and does take. She presented on national counter-terrorism policy development, using Singapore as a case study, as well as on multilateral cooperation in the immediate aftermath of the 2002 Bali Bombings.
Stephanie Foggett presented on media, narratives, and crisis management perspectives. Observers have long noted the “symbiotic relationship” that exists between terrorism and media, specifically the utility and importance of media and communications to a range of terrorist actors across the ideological spectrum. She noted the importance of a free media to democratic societies in the fight against terrorism, as well as the ways that contemporary violent non-state actors capitalize on moments of crisis for their own political gain.