Citation

Lum C, Kennedy LW, Sherley A. Psicothema 2008; 20(1): 35-42.

Affiliation

George Mason University, Manassas, VA 20110, USA. clum@gmu.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Departamento de Psicología de la Universidad de Oviedo, Publisher Colegio Oficial de Psicológicas de Asturias)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

18206063

Abstract

Is counter-terrorism policy evidence-based? What works, what harms, and what is unknown. One of the central concerns surrounding counter-terrorism interventions today, given the attention and money spent on them, is whether such interventions are effective. To explore this issue, we conducted a general review of terrorism literature as well as a Campbell systematic review on counter-terrorism strategies. In this article, we summarize some of our findings from these works. Overall, we found an almost complete absence of evaluation research on counter-terrorism strategies and conclude that counter-terrorism policy is not evidence-based. The findings of this review emphasise the need for government leaders, policy makers, researchers, and funding agencies to include and insist on evaluations of the effectiveness of these programs in their agendas.

Language: en