Developing Democracies, Counter-Terror Laws & Security

Published in association with the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies in Sri Lanka, this book raises genuine security concerns that the Indian state attempts to address through various measures. The use of counter-terrorism legislation is one such means, employed especially by democracies. This study contends that legislation ought to adequately deter terrorist groups, but at the same time, prevent the state from encroaching on human rights of the innocents. The key questions addressed in the book are: Do counter-terrorism laws enhance security? If so, in what manner? If not, why and what are the problems involved? The study assumes that there is an inherent tension between state security and the security of its subjects, and it intends to fill the gap in the existing literature on legal aspects of terrorism and counter-terrorism.

N. Manoharan is currently senior fellow and head of the Internal Security Programme at the Vivekananda International Foundation in New Delhi. He is the author of India’s War on Terror and Security Deficit: Comprehensive Internal Security Strategy for India. Dayani Panagoda is currently a national technical advisor attached to the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Facilitating Local Initiatives for Social Cohesion and Transformation (FLICT), and Sri Lankan Ministry of National Languages and Social Integration groups.