Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No.12, 2017

 

The Global Governance of Terrorism: Different Mechanisms and Their Assessment

(Abstract)

 

Zeng Xianghong

 

Breakthroughs in the global governance of terrorism depend mainly on the formation of thorough and effective mechanisms. At present, global governance targets terrorism through four mechanisms: hegemonic governance; governance by international organizations; hybrid governance; and governance by the major powers. These strategies have made their contributions to counter-terrorism, but they do have shortcomings. We start with the judgment that the governance entities should adhere to the logic of consequences, of appropriateness, of emotion and of habitus in the governance of terrorism, and on this basis make a preliminary assessment of the global governance of terrorism. Present counter-terrorist governance mechanisms tend to be based on the thinking of the logic of consequences with only partial implementation of the logic of appropriateness and no use, so far, of counterterrorism measures based on the logic of emotion and the logic of habitus. To address both the symptoms and root cause of terrorism, international society should encourage governance strategies that implement counter-terrorism measures based on the four types of logic mentioned above and should promote the coordination and cooperation in their platforms. China could give an impetus to the role of such platforms as the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, enabling them to play a more significant part in the global governance of terrorism.