Smart Power or Coercive? A Strategic Dilemma in Decision Making Policy: The Case of Counter-terrorism in the Post-9/11 Era

Abstract

This paper analyzes in the basis of "smart power" the political choice against contemporary religious terrorism stemming from extreme Islamic fundamentalism. It may be assumed that it is a complex phenomenon, whose roots should be sought in deep social and economic inequality dissociating underdeveloped and developing countries from Western-type developed ones. This particular phenomenon has been addressed on a short-term basis with military actions in the basis of "hard power" entailing in dubious results. It is suggested that the United States of America (USA) and its western allies, against of which terrorist attacks primarily tend to take place, should use a long-term strategy of using tools of "smart power" in order the established international environment feeding terrorist organizations such as Al-Qaeda to be reformed. Besides, the political approach of "smart power" has been already tested effectively on the grounds that it led the USA to a successful outcome of Cold War. It is estimated that its use would bring similarly successful results against contemporary religious terrorism.