From punishment to pre-emption : the changing nature of regional organizations’ legal responses to terrorism, 1990-2010

Abstract

This article examines regional organizations’ antiterrorism efforts across the globe from 1990 until 2010. Empirically, it provides a comprehensive overview of the legal responses developed. Analytically, it determines long-term patterns and regional differences in these treaties, examines bones of contention, and how these were overcome. This study shows that after the Cold War, all regions developed legal antiterrorism frameworks, but states continued to preserve their sovereignty by various means; and extraditing or trying suspects remained the compromise of choice. Importantly, these antiterrorism efforts marked a watershed. Measures shifted from an approach exclusively focused on punishing and deterring terrorists toward an emphasis on preemption.