In 2016, the top ten countries that experienced terrorist attacks were (in descending order): Iraq, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, Philippines, Nigeria, Turkey, Yemen, Syria, and Somalia. Evidently, despite the high levels of media coverage for terrorist acts committed in western countries, it is the developing world that suffers most greatly at the hands of terrorists.
Much of the globe’s counterterrorism effort is spearheaded by western countries, including armed interventions in the developing world, such as the broad military alliance that has been combating Daesh. Sometimes, it falls under the umbrella of the United Nations; while on other occasions, it reflects cooperation exclusively between western countries. Much less frequent are cases of “south-south” cooperation in the counterterrorism arena. How can developing countries increase their joint counterterrorism activities?
Dr. Omar Al-Ubaydli, Director of Studies & Research