Terrorism as a Threat to World Democracy

Terrorism not only kills the innocent, it undermines the long-standing structure of democratic states, even with mature democracies, such as the United States and much of Europe. Fear of terrorism distorts public debate, discredits moderates and reinforces political extremes and destabilizes any society.

The purpose of this article is to attempt to explore the basic elements, key concepts and principles that underlie international instruments and institutions dealing with complex topics of terrorism and ways to counter it, as well as any tough response based on the security of the state faced with acts of terrorism.

A range of actors, including the government, international public institutions and civil society, can reduce the scale and scope of terrorist violence, thus mitigating its dangerous political consequences. To reduce the danger that terrorism poses to democracy, special attention should be paid to the sharing of intelligence around the world. The world community must immediately respond to any presuppositions or manifestations of signs of terrorism, must intensify efforts to infiltrate right-wing terrorist movements, arrest their members and devote more resources to solving this problem.

Thus, a complex of military measures against terrorists, the exchange of intelligence data with constant surveillance of terrorists, the protection of public order, the security of the freedoms of citizens and the integrity of state borders remain necessary, guaranteed resources on the way to ensuring a comprehensive fight against world terrorism in order to preserve democracy throughout the world.