The EU's Legal Approach to Counterterrorism — Christian Kaunert

This episode of The IR thinker examines the European Union’s counterterrorism legal framework with Professor Christian Kaunert, exploring how terrorism is defined, how key instruments are implemented across member states, and how financial tracking and international cooperation shape EU practice. The discussion also considers human rights safeguards, the challenge of online radicalisation, gaps in the existing framework and promising directions for future research on EU counterterrorism policy.Christian KaunertChristian Kaunert is Professor of International Security at the School of Law and Government at Dublin City University and Professor of Policing and Security at the University of South Wales, where he directs the International Centre for Policing and Security and serves as a Jean Monnet Chair. His work focuses on European security, counterterrorism and justice and home affairs cooperation.The Sharing Economy for Tackling CybercrimeSecuritization Outside the West: West African Security ReconceptualisedEuropol and EU Counterterrorism: International Security Actorness in the External DimensionThe European Union as a Global Counter-Terrorism ActorFar-right foreign fighters and Ukraine: A blind spot for the European Union?Counter-terrorism cooperation and the European Neighbourhood PolicyPreventing radicalisation and enhancing disengagement in the European UnionContent00:00 - Introduction02:35 - The EU Definition of Terrorism and Its Implications09:25 - General vs Specific Definitions of Terrorism: A Comparative Analysis11:41 - Dissemination of Terrorism Definitions to National Member States’ Legal Codes13:31 - Fundamental Legal Instruments in EU Counterterrorism Framework28:27 - Tracking Financial Flows in Counterterrorism Operations35:15 - Comparison between the Council of Europe and the European Council in Counterterrorism Efforts40:43 - International Cooperation in Counterterrorism and the Role of the EU48:05 - EU Initiatives towards Non-Western Countries and Reciprocal Engagement52:29 - Human Rights Considerations within EU Counterterrorism Strategies57:34 - EU Institutions Involved in Counterterrorism Efforts01:00:19 - Gaps and Missing Elements in the EU’s Counterterrorism Legal Framework01:04:53 - Addressing Radicalisation through Online Content Regulation01:08:01 - Suggestions for Further Research in EU Counterterrorism Policies and StrategiesFollow & Further ResourcesSubstack: https://theirthinker.substack.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ir-thinker/X: https://x.com/irthinker_Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theirthinker/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theirthinker.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/irthinkerfb Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.