Transnational Terrorism Today: How Do the Transatlantic Allies Deal with Terrorism?

November 9-10, 2017

Transnational terrorism has become one of the major global threats of the 21st century. The countries of North America and Europe feel particularly vulnerable and exposed. Attempts to agree on a sober transatlantic policy to deal with transnational terrorism have been made for quite a few years. So far, however, the transatlantic allies have not been able to develop a united and comprehensive strategy toward transnational terrorism. Confronting Al-Qaida was difficult enough. The rise of the Islamic State (IS), Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab and similar organizations and the bloodshed in, for instance, Syria, Yemen, Iraq, Afghanistan as well as homegrown terrorism have confronted policy makers with increasingly complex issues.

This conference considers the manifold challenges involved when dealing with transnational terrorism. Understanding the nature of the threat, after all, is of crucial importance to contain and perhaps even to eradicate it in the years to come. Our distinguished and experienced participants from academia and the policymaking world in the U.S. and Europe assess the situation and offer solutions for finding a comprehensive transatlantic approach to counter the threat of transnational terrorism. Among the many important issues to be discussed is the challenge of finding a balance between observing democratic values, norms and laws and the demand for the use of rather authoritarian and hardline counter-terrorism measures.

This promises to be a challenging and enlightening event. It will commence with a keynote address by distinguished terrorism expert Prof. Bruce Hoffman of Georgetown University on Thursday, November 9th, at 4:30 pm (UNC-Chapel Hill, Wilson Library, Pleasants Family Assembly Room). The conference takes place on Friday, November 10th from 8:30am to 7:30pm, consisting of 3 panels with 12 talks in total, followed by a concluding panel discussion (Global FedEx Center, Room 4003).

ALL WELCOME. Free without ticket.

Keynote Speaker

Bruce Hoffman — Director of the Center for Security Studies, Director of the Security Studies Program, and a tenured professor at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Washington, DC

Panelists

Maren Brooks — Former Senior Director, National Security Council
Warren Chin — Senior Lecturer, Defence Studies Department, King’s College, London
Cori E. Dauber — Professor of Communication, UNC Chapel Hill & Research Fellow at the Triangle Institute for Security Studies
Sarah L. Desmarais — Associate Professor and Coordinator of the Applied Social and Community Psychology Program, North Carolina State University
Peter Eltsov — Associate Professor, Department of Regional and Analytical Studies, National Defense University
Bruce Jentleson — Professor of Public Policy and Political Science, Duke University
Richard Kohn — Professor Emeritus of History and Peace, War and Defense, UNC-Chapel Hill
Klaus Larres — Richard M. Krasno Distinguished Professor of History, Adjunct Professor of the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense, UNC-Chapel Hill
Martin Miller — Professor of History, Duke University
Michael Morgan — Assistant Professor of History, UNC-Chapel Hill
Holger Moroff — Adjunct Professor of Political Science, UNC-Chapel Hill
Peter O’Brien — Professor of Political Science, Trinity College
Farah Pandith — Adjunct Senior Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations
David Schanzer — Director of the Triangle Center on Terrorism and Homeland Security & Associate Professor of the Practice at the Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University
Deborah Weissman — Reef C. Ivey II Distinguished Professor of Law, UNC-Chapel Hill

Faculty Organizers

Klaus Larres — Richard M Krasno Distinguished Professor of History & International Affairs, UNC Chapel Hill
Tobias Hof — DAAD Visiting Professor of History, UNC Chapel Hill