Counter-Terrorism: An International History, 1919-1937

My dissertation research focuses on the development of modern counter-terrorism strategies and practices in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Terrorism emerged as a distinct form of political violence in Europe during the late nineteenth century. By the mid-twentieth century, it was a global phenomenon, shifting from international anarchist violence in the 1890s to anti-colonial and state-sponsored terrorism in the 1920s and 1930s. Faced with an evolving security threat, national governments and the international community responded in a variety of ways. The diverse legal, institutional, and diplomatic strategies undertaken by governments at the turn of the twentieth century mark the beginnings of contemporary counter-terrorism. While continental European governments advocated multilateral accords that synchronized police efforts and national laws, the United States and United Kingdom gravitated towards immigration restrictions and domestic-surveillance programs. Based on multi-national and multi-lingual archival research in the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Switzerland, I argue that the lack of consensus over arms controls hindered an effective Western counter-terrorism strategy against revolutionary ideologies after the First World War.