Domestic Management of Terrorist Attacks

According to the St Andrews University News website:

"Less than a year after the catastrophic events of September 11 2001, the University of St Andrews is to embark on new research into the domestic management of terrorist attacks in the UK. The study, aimed at exploring the internal response to the events of September 11 and their aftermath, concentrating on the management of terrorist attacks in the UK, is funded by a £250,000 grant from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC).

The timely research, which will start in August 2002, will be led by Professor Paul Wilkinson, Director of the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV) at St Andrews, working in conjunction with experts at the University of Southampton, the Potomac Institute, USA and specialist consultants in fields ranging from criminology to disaster management."

Government, police and armed forces, the private sector and the mass media

The article also state Professor Wilkinson's interest in involving the state, private sector and the media in counter terrorism.

"Non-academic users of research from various parts of Government, police and armed forces, the private sector and the mass media have already expressed keen interest in this project. Members from these user-groups and many other potential user-groups will be invited to an agenda-refining conference to be held this September.

The involvement of private sector organisations is particularly important, Professor Wilkinson believes - 'Government cannot do everything to protect against terrorism and we depend on the expertise and co-operation of the private sector to improve their defences against terrorist attacks.'"

Extra Funding

His approach to counter terrorism also appears popular with the USA "Professor Wilkinson's ESRC funding coincides with a $300,000 grant from Washington Policy and Analysis, Inc. to establish a research fellowship in CSTPV"

Future ESRC Funding

Several studies are to be funded after this "The study is one of three to be awarded ESRC funding. The second project will involve Lawrence Freedman, Professor of War Studies at King’s College London heading a consortium of institutions and specialists who will examine options for responding to the threat of terrorist attacks on the UK. The research team aim to work closely with the project led by Professor Paul Wilkinson at the University of St Andrew’s to avoid duplication and ensure the best use of resources. Meanwhile, the third research study will be led by Michael Dillon, Professor of Politics at the University of Lancaster which will take a novel slant on the management of terrorism."

Conclusion 2005

The Project ran from September 2002 to January 2005 with a book of the report being published along with a special issue of the academic journal Terrorism and Political Violence.

Download a PDF of the report The Domestic Management of Terrorist Attacks in the UK by clicking on the executive summary.

People

• Professor Paul Wilkinson
• Professor Frank Gregory, specialist in European law enforcement, University of Southampton
• Professor John Simpson, expert in weapons of mass destruction, University of Southampton
• Dr Daryl Howlett, specialises in cyber-terrorism, University of Southampton
• Dr Patricia Rawlinson, Criminologist
• Professor Yonah Alexander
• Mr Tony Moore, retired senior police officer and a lecturer at the Disaster Management Centre, Cranfield University
• Dr. Shane Brighton