Inter-organizational Cooperation and Coordination in the Fight against Terrorism: From Undisputable Necessity to Paradoxical Challenges

The inter-organizational lesson in the fight against terrorism has been clearly identified after 9/11, but not completely learned and applied. Horizontal cooperation and coordination structures have been established, yet due to many challenges they do not function optimally. This article reaches bey...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative strategy 2014-08, Vol.33 (4), p.321-341
Main Author: Prezelj, Iztok
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cooperation
Coordination
Counterterrorism
International relations
Networks
Organizations
September 11th 2001
Strategic planning
Terrorism
Threat
Threats
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The inter-organizational lesson in the fight against terrorism has been clearly identified after 9/11, but not completely learned and applied. Horizontal cooperation and coordination structures have been established, yet due to many challenges they do not function optimally. This article reaches beyond the prevailing mantra concerning the need for inter-organizational cooperation in the fight against terrorism by providing a framework for understanding the complexity of network counterterrorism and the relevant challenges. It introduces four levels of complexity that must be comprehended in order to ensure an optimal and comprehensive strategic approach in this fight. Based on this, it argues that a successful counterterrorism strategy needs to provide capacities for multi-organizational, inter-organizational and network-horizontal cooperation, and the capacity to manage many related inter-organizational challenges. The conclusions also suggest that our societies are still not conceptually and practically ready to embrace a truly comprehensive network approach to a networked threat. The inter-organizational approach in the fight against terrorism is ultimately what organizations make of it.
ISSN:0149-5933
1521-0448
DOI:10.1080/01495933.2014.941721