Global governance is key to peace

Enhancing global governance, rather than aggressive counter-measures, is the key to ending terrorism, according to UN expert Dr Sam Makinda from Murdoch University.

Dr Makinda is investigating the impact of terrorism and counter-terrorism measures in a number of countries, including the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom and Indonesia.

“The complex relationship between global governance and terrorism was, in part, encapsulated in the events of 11 September 2001 and subsequent responses by the US and its allies. Terrorism, as a technique of warfare, seeks to undermine the rules and values of society and to intimidate people, so that they don’t go about their business. Alarmingly, new counter-terrorism measures in many countries have very similar impacts on citizens.”

“The terrorists and some countries battling terrorism, such as the United States, have used power to undermine universal norms, rules and institutions, albeit from difference directions. Terrorists took the law into their own hands and used violence to try to intimidate the people and government of the United States. The US government has used its structural power to try to create new, exceptional rules for itself alone.”

Dr Makinda believes that by siding with the United States and militarizing their counter-terrorism strategies, several countries might have denied themselves an opportunity to deal most effectively with the possibility of reducing the chances of future terrorism by exploring the question ‘Why might terrorists strike again?’

Dr Makinda is a strong advocate for using organisations, like the United Nations, to search for an effective antidote against terrorism.

“Global governance has the potential to address the conflicts, fractures and other factors that give rise to terrorism. It is by renewing and re-emphasising the norms, rules and institutions that underpin global governance that the United States and the rest of international society can most effectively tackle terrorism,” Dr Makinda said.

“International society needs to reflect, re-examine its part practices in a consensual manner, and come up with new initiatives and strategies for strengthening global governance and reducing the likelihood of terror. We need to try alternative methods, like education and spreading messages of tolerance and understanding”.