Community-based Counterterrorism: What French Security Forces Can Learn from the British CONTEST Model

Abstract

France has been the victim of twelve high-profile terrorist attacks since 2012, despite its heavy-handed, legalistic approach to counterterrorism. The United Kingdom, in com-parison, has undergone only one major attack since 2007. Is the British counterterrorism model, which focuses on engagement with community organizations and non govern-mental organizations (NGOs), proving more successful than the French approach? This paper proposes that France's security forces should consider adopting aspects of the British community-based counter-radicalization model.