From 22-26 May 2023, 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 course on ‘Efficient Crisis Management to Mitigate the Effects of Terrorist Activities’ provided attendees with an awareness and appreciation of different aspects of crisis management and associated counter-terrorism issues. The course was attended by military officers, law enforcement officials, and civilian equivalents with a professional interest or background in counter-terrorism or crisis management.
Susan Sim delivered lectures on national counter-terrorism policies and cross governmental cooperation in crisis management, using Singapore as a case study. She discussed how a well-thought out national counter-terrorism policy also serves as a crisis management tool in preparing the public to survive an attack, and for society to bounce back stronger the day after. She also shared a case study of how governments in Southeast Asia and the United States cooperated in the immediate aftermath of the 2002 Bali Bombings to degrade the capabilities of the pan-regional Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network.
Stephanie Foggett presented on media, narratives, and crisis management perspectives. She presented on why it remains important for NATO, NATO-nations, and partners to understand the media and communications landscape and how this landscape intersects with today’s security challenges. She specifically touched on the importance of the media to a democratic society and the freedoms and values it fights for in the first place. She also presented on Terrorist Exploitation of Crises and Disaster, noting how terrorist and violent extremist actors across the ideological spectrum are able to exploit a range of human-made crises and natural disasters for political, operational, and financial gain.