Transatlantic Counterterrorism Cooperation: Understanding the Convergence and Divergence in the post 9/11 Era

(Ali Ashraf, University of Pittsburgh)

The purpose of this paper is two fold: to review the salient features in the EU and its major Member States' counterterrorism strategies; and to investigate the areas of convergence and divergence in transatlantic cooperation on counterterrorism. It begins with a brief literature review and then proceeds into an investigation into key EU counterterrorism agencies and institutional structures. It then looks into the history of terrorism and counterterrorism policies in key EU member states, to explore how the changing threat perceptions and other variables impact upon the issue of transatlantic counterterrorism cooperation. Contrary to the critics of the divergent school of thought, this paper finds that key European states and major EU institutions have maintained substantial and varied level of security cooperation with the United States. Such cooperation is evident in troop contribution in Afghanistan and Iraq, participation in the U.S.-led Container Security Initiative (CSI), and intelligence sharing etc. The paper concludes with a brief discussion on the theoretical and policy implications of the study.