April 2018 Global
The research report authored by Tomorrow Foundation was recently published in both English and French news media.
The report targets counterterrorism, one of the hottest topics in the realm of international relations, and aims to clarify some general misconceptions of terrorism that people become terrorists by their conscious choice, that a hard barrier of armed force is effective in counterterrorism, and so on. The report also provides a unique perspective to the study of counterterrorism by introducing a new concept “soft barrier”, a barrier constructed by people’s understanding, acceptance, and efforts of development to fight against terrorism.
The report has applied different analytical methods to compare the effectiveness of traditional hard barriers and proposed soft barriers in protecting people from the influence of terrorism. Supplemented by the cases of Chad, Mali, Nigeria, and many other terrorism-affected countries, the report has concluded that although hard barriers may have a stronger impact in reducing the number of terrorist attacks in the short term, nevertheless, the existence of soft barriers is indispensable if we wish to establish a secure and stable environment, in which terrorism naturally loses its appeal. In the end, the report has advocated for a greater engagement to establish soft barriers from the international community, because, according to the report, “the more people we mobilize to stand on our side, the less space it is left for terrorism.”
Mondafrique, one of the leading new agencies in Africa, comments that this report provides a great lesson to the Westerners that force alone will not stop terrorism; in order to effectively contain terrorism at a minimal level, understanding, acceptance, and efforts of development are much needed.
La Chine réinvente les politiques anti-terroristes en Afrique
https://mondafrique.com/chine-reinvente-politiques-anti-terroristes-afrique/amp/?from=timeline
An Alternative Approach of Counter-terrorism
http://en.people.cn/n3/2018/0420/c90000-9452066.html?from=timeline
Download the report: An alternative approach of counter-terrorism_eng