Hobbes Versus Locke- Redefining the War on Terror; Research paper

摘要

This paper draws upon the European experiences with terrorism in order to draw lessons for today's strategic environment. The central thesis is that the current approach to terrorism is flawed. The West has developed a myopic view and has lost sight of wider strategic interests. Terrorism has replaced the wider security framework wholesale and plays an overly dominant role in policy formulation. The continued pursuit of terrorists by primarily military means will lead to a Hobbesian state of nature which is not in the interest of the Western World. A return to a broader view of the strategic environment, with a more constrained use of state violence, is recommended.