Review - Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Comparing Theory and Practice

Recently I reviewed the Coursera short course  New Approaches to Countering Terror: Countering Violent Extremism with a recommendation that this course is good addition to any Financial Crime professional looking to upskill in the area of Terrorism or Terrorist Financing.

Another strong Coursera course is Terrorism and Counterterrorism: Comparing Theory and Practice offered by Leiden University.

From the outset of this review I can say that this is possibility the BEST Coursera course I have undertaken.

Although it is marked as a “beginner” course, it explores, from both an academic and practitioner perspective, a wide range of topics and in a level of detail and complexity that I would more associate with an intermediate or advanced course.

As with other Coursera courses, you have the option to take the course for free, or pay CAD $65 for the assessed version which results in a certificate. The assessments for this course were the most rigorous I have experienced and certainly not an afterthought. Each “week” - and you can take the “weeks” as soon as you wish - consists of a 10 question quiz. There was also a final exam of 30 questions covering the whole course.

There is also an honours option where you could submit an assignment for peer review. Being a non-credit course, I didn’t personally take this option.

The modules were well presented and delivered by Prof Dr Edwin Bakker from Leiden University. The structure and flow of the presentations made sense and it was clear that a lot of time and effort had been put into this offering. Notably, not content to leave the course as a static offering, an additional week on Foreign Fighters were subsequently added to the course at a later time and in response to demand.

I have listed the course content below which you can see is very comprehensive. I would strongly recommend this course for any financial crime professional, those working in related fields that would benefit from an understanding of Terrorism, or simply if you have an interest in the topic.

Week 1 - The Essence of Terrorism

• History of Terrorism

• Use of the word Terrorism

• Why are there no generally accepted definitions

• Need for a definition: some attempts

• Essence of Terrorism

Week 2 - Researching Terrorism and Counterterrorism

• History of Terrorism Studies, Disciplines & Approaches, and Key Authors & Centres

Week 3 - 5 Assumptions on Terrorism

• Terrorism is caused by Poverty

• Terrorists are Crazy

• Terrorism is increasingly Lethal

• Terrorism is predominately Anti-Western

• Terrorism is Successful

Week 4 - 5 Assumptions on Counterterrorism

• One can recognise a Terrorist

• Deradicalisation is possible

• Decapitation of Terrorist Organisations works

• Terrorism cannot be defeated

• Terrorism can best be managed by a holistic approach

Week 5 - Dealing with Terrorism and the Future

• Under-researched topics

• Fear and Resiliance

• Fear and Impact Management

• Impact Management and Resilience in your country.

• Future of Terrorism

Week 6 - Foreign Fighters and Fighting Groups in Syria

• Why is it making headlines

• Foreign Fighters in Syria: Who are they and where do they go?

• Foreign Fighters in Syria and Iraq

• Foreign Fighters: A threat?

• Policy options

In conclusion, this is by far the most informative Coursera course I have taken and would not be out of place as a undergraduate level offering. Even as a Terrorism course instructor myself, I came away from the course having increased my knowledge.

I would recommend this course to anyone looking to build a strong academic and practitioner foundation in the field of Terrorism.