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The Liberal Response to Terrorism

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West European Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism

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Abstract

For the last 25 years, the liberal democracies of Western Europe have been struggling with the problem of how to respond to terrorism in a manner that is consistent with their own norms of legitimacy and acceptability. One of the key foundations of the modern liberal state is the requirement that the government of the day serves to protect the security of its citizens by enacting and enforcing laws which are designed to protect their fundamental interests. Given the basic attack that terrorism poses to the right of the individual to exist in a setting that is free from the arbitrary coercion and violence of others, it is consequently vital that the liberal state acts against this mode of violence in a firm manner.

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Notes

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Brisbane, Australia

    Peter Chalk (Research Analyst)

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© 1996 Peter Chalk

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Chalk, P. (1996). The Liberal Response to Terrorism. In: West European Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230374195_6

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