The "War on Terror"

Following the events of 11 September 2001 (9/11), the prevention and pre-emption of acts of terrorism has become a priority. At international level, through a series of Resolutions and the establishment of a new Committee, the UN Security Council contributed to the development of a transnational environment accommodative of wide-ranging and collaborative counter-terrorism measures. Domestically, states such the United States and United Kingdom, engaged in immediate and determined legislating. Existing criminal and counter-terrorism legislation was updated and expanded while at the same time new Acts and measures were being introduced in an equally swift manner. Despite these substantial legislative changes however considerable legal and political effort was devoted by the US in particular to construct a transnational counter-terrorism campaign known as the ‘War on Terror’. As a political paradigm, this ‘war’ was used to justify the military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. As a legal paradigm, the ‘War on Terror’ was designed to construct an environment within which the applicability of the relevant international norms was either severely restricted or uncertain. In the years following the events of 9/11, the US ‘War on Terror’ gradually came to define the first decade of the 21st century. Almost 20 years on since its start, its legacy continues to be felt.