New research into counter-terrorism discourse

Saferworld has published a new discussion paper, ‘The voice of the fourth pillar: How Security Council discourse drove counter-terrorism expansion at the UN’.

Over the past decade, Saferworld has followed the growth of counter-terrorism from a peripheral concern into a major focus of the United Nations (UN), leading ground-breaking research and engaging with the UN policy community. This new paper tracks how the institutional expansion of counter-terrorism has occurred hand in hand with shifts in rhetorical pattern at the UN Security Council. It identifies the active role that security rhetoric has played in embedding counter-terrorism as a self-sustaining agenda at the UN and highlights five key insights into this trend.

Visit Saferworld’s website for the full report, a Q&A with the report authors, and an audio explainer.