UNITED NATIONS ROLE IN COMBATING INTERNATIONAL TERRORISM: A CONTEMPORARY ANALYSIS (2010-2020)

Abstract

This paper examines the recent reforms of the United Nations (UN) concerning governance of the counter-terrorism (CT) through a process begun in 2010 and completed in 2020, prompted by the successive changes to the security environment characterized by the advent of transnational networks of terrorists, cyber-enabled extremism, and the emergence of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs). A critical realist mixed-methods approach was employed in the investigation, and an embedded multiple-case research design was also used, allowing for the exploration of the macro-level evolution, meso-level institutional coordination, and micro-level implementation in Afghanistan, Nigeria, and the Philippines. The theory used in the analytical framework is the Tripartite Security Governance Framework that combines all three theories of Collective Security, Securitization, and Regime Complex. The results have shown that although the creation of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) has strengthened strategic coherence, operational gaps still persist, especially in the fragile states where the centralized decision-making unit makes it not possible to be flexible in the field. Comparative analysis also proves that locally-rooted legitimacy and hybrid governance mechanisms can be seen to be the key to success, as exemplified by Nigeria and the Philippines, but not the case with the top-down, technocratic approaches seen with Afghanistan, as it failed to achieve a sustainable reintegration. This contribution of the study is therefore both theoretical and practical by identifying the structural, normative and coordination circumstances in which the UN CT endeavours can bridge the normative to operational gap and maintain legitimacy in a highly disputed global security environment.