Various forms of conflicts involving terrorism have for a long time constituted a security threat to states and individuals, and means of resolving and reducing the effects of this particular form of conflict has been a topic of interest for academics and policymakers alike. Even so, it was not until the devastating attack on the United States on September 11th in 2001 that the challenge of counter-terrorism assumed the current global dimension. The increase in the level of engagement with terrorists require further and more in-depth studies regarding the possible means of resolution, management, and prevention of the threat of terrorism. Terrorism is a global phenomenon and cannot be said to have a specific point of origin. However, the roots of much of contemporary terrorism can be traced to the Silk Road region including North East Asia, from where the global network of terrorists expand.

This project focuses on various aspects of the terrorism phenomenon. The research undertaken is designed to increase knowledge regarding the preventing, managing and resolution of terrorism conflicts. The causes of terrorism are analyzed in order to create understanding of the circumstances that lead to this specific form of violent political conflict. In order to avoid generalization regarding the factors that promote terrorism, research on causes of terrorism takes into account the specificities of the different unique environments and events that has spurred individual forms of terrorism. This undertaking also includes the classification of different types of terrorism. Preventive policies in areas of economics, responsiveness of the political system and social policies are evaluated and analyzed to determine their use and effectiveness in preventing future terrorism conflicts. Analysis are also done for the purpose of evaluating existing security threats to regions, states and members of the public and suggest means of managing an ongoing conflict. Methods of intelligence gathering, cooperation between security services and judicial consensus will be analyzed for policy suggestions. Furthermore, the crime-terrorism continuum is explored in an analysis of the connection between criminal activities, such as drug trafficking and illegal arms trade, and terrorism networks are investigated. We also strive to map out the extent and content of the financial cooperation both between these criminal areas, and society at large.

In this project, emphasis is placed on research regarding non-military resolution of terrorism conflicts. Methods such as sanctions, legal action and negotiation are analyzed theoretically and empirically to determine their foundations for use in handling, preventing, and resolving terrorism conflicts. Considerations are also given to military and other forms of coercive methods of conflict resolution, but the aim is not to develop these methods since that is done elsewhere. This is done through analyzing different conflict resolution processes utilized to solve conflicts involving different forms of terrorism, such as ethno-nationalistic terrorism, narco-terrorism, religious and ideological terrorism.

The project is working towards developing already existing theoretical frameworks of terrorism studies as well as constructing new theories regarding the prevention, management and resolution of conflicts involving terrorism. The results from the research are designed to fulfill demands from both academic and policymaking circles.

This project is part of the by the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs funded research on Conflict and Security in Asia.