A review of International Counter-Terrorism strategy through a criminological assessment of the punitive model implemented in Europe

Abstract

Jihadist terrorism, especially since the Al-Qaeda attacks in 2001 and Daesh’s consolidation as an autonomous group in the following decade, have been a major global political concern. In turn, the cruelty exhibited by the Daesh has had an undeniable impact on public opinion, which demands security above all else and has been exploited by the public authorities to promote military and security strategies, along with a restrictive policy on fundamental rights such as freedom of expression, pushing the criminal barrier to questionable limits. The objective of this article is to offer a critical vision of these policies, based on empirical data, about the phenomenon of foreign terrorist combatants.