Countering the ideology of terrorism includes a set of organizational, socio-political, information, and propaganda measures to prevent the spread of beliefs, ideas, moods, motives, and attitudes in society aimed at radically changing the existing social and political institutions of the state. Today, counteraction to terrorism should be carried out in such areas as the prevention of terrorism, the fight against terrorism, and the minimization and elimination of the consequences of terrorist acts. Terrorism prevention is understood as an activity that includes a set of measures aimed at identifying and eliminating the causes and conditions that contribute to the implementation of terrorist activities. One of the most important components of prevention is the organization and implementation on a systematic basis of countering the ideology of terrorism and extremism to prevent the creation of terrorist groups such as The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and The Shining Path (Spanish: Sendero Luminoso) in Peru.
Countering the ideology of terrorism includes a set of organizational, socio-political, information, and propaganda measures to prevent the spread of beliefs, ideas, moods, motives, and attitudes in society aimed at radically changing the existing social and political institutions of the state. Any individuals and legal entities, places of mass stay of people, real estate, critical infrastructure, transport, and life support can be considered as potential objects of terrorist aspirations, communication, and information networks (Cotton-Barratt et al., 2020). The anti-terrorist protection of potential objects of terrorist aspirations should be understood as the complex use of physical protection forces, engineering and technical means, and regime measures aimed at ensuring their safe functioning. In this regard, a special role belongs to the effective implementation of administrative and legal regimes provided for by legislation.
Prevention of the emergence of terrorist groups such as The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and The Shining Path (Spanish: Sendero Luminoso) in Peru involves solving the following tasks. First of all, it is the development of recommendations and the implementation of measures to eliminate the causes and conditions that contribute to the emergence and spread of terrorism (Stephens et al., 2021). It is also the provision of a deterrent and positive impact on the behavior of individuals (groups of individuals) prone to extremist actions.
One of the effective methods of preventing the emergence of terrorism is the implementation of comprehensive measures to form a legal culture. In particular, this could be facilitated by a significant expansion of the legal component of upbringing and education. Knowledge of one’s own rights and freedoms will contribute to the development of a sense of respect for the rights and freedoms of others, including their life, health, and dignity. The law prohibits any form of restriction of citizens’ rights on the grounds of social, racial, national, linguistic, and religious affiliation (Cotton-Barratt et al., 2020). Therefore, the education of a tolerant worldview, and tolerant attitude towards all people, regardless of their nationality, religion, social, property status, and other circumstances, will help to counteract various types of religious, national, and social extremism.
An effective measure can also be considered an increase in the level of social and material security of citizens, assistance in the employment of young professionals, and support for housing programs. These measures will help people realize that the state cares about them, and there is no need to commit illegal actions and receive material funds from terrorists and extremists. In conclusion, it is much more profitable to prevent terrorism and extremism than to eliminate the consequences of such phenomena.
References
Cotton-Barratt, O., Daniel, M., & Sandberg, A. (2020). Defence in depth against human extinction: Prevention, response, resilience, and why they all matter. Global Policy, 11(3), 271–282.
Stephens, W., Sieckelinck, S., & Boutellier, H. (2021). Preventing violent extremism: A review of the literature, studies in conflict & terrorism. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 44(4), 346–361.