The initial idea of the research project was to investigate the effectiveness of counter-terrorism measures that have been instituted by states since 1945. While the state has several instruments available to deal with terrorist activity, such as the police forces, the army, judicial instruments and political and socio-economic instruments, few studies have asked the question how effective are they for reducing terrorist activity. Early on in the investigations we found that the state itself is part of the conflict dynamics. The main question has developed into: to what extent is the state a cause or catalyst in escalation of struggles that usually start very inconspicuously. While the state, in general, does not seek to intensify armed conflict within its territory, its actions might paradoxically contribute to increases in the levels of violence. A subsequent question will of course be: which factors and causal processes contribute to the de-escalation of these kinds of conflicts.
      Based on a series of non-Western case studies, the project will compare state policies aimed at combating irregular war around the world since 1945. The investigations will dissect, on the basis of historical and empirical evidence, the causal processes that lead to increases and decreases in the levels of violence of irregular wars. The study aims to shift the dominant focus from state centred perspectives and Western cases towards a more historical and, importantly, non-state and non-Western perspective on the development of (counter)-terrorism and (counter)-insurgency.