Assessment of policy and institutional approaches to international terrorism in Uganda

Abstract

Uganda is one of the countries that have suffered the consequences of international terrorism and remains among those targeted for more terrorist attacks. Different approaches have been formulated and implemented to contain international terrorism and domestic collaborators in different countries particularly those who carry out vicious terrorist attacks such as the al-Qaeda, Taliban, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), al-Shabaab, Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in Uganda, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), and Boko Haram in Nigeria, all of which seem to draw profound inspiration and moral courage from the Middle East terrorist groups .Using an intensive desk review methodology the study established firstly, that the major policy and institutional approaches employed include those which accentuate continuous efforts to design and execute anti-terrorist legal instruments, establishment of specialist security, administrative and legal agencies. Secondly, results suggest that reforming existing administrative structures, procedural responses to terrorism and coordination of government agencies' security roles with those of other countries through Interpol constituted yet another strategic response against terrorism. Thirdly, the policy and institutional approaches which have been developed and implemented in Uganda appear to have been underscored by recent successful operations against terrorist networks in East Africa as well as other strategies adopted against international terrorism. I conclude that the security and legal responses, their levels of success and the challenges imbedded provide the basis for appropriate policy action to diverse countries which must coordinate their responses to terrorism at national, regional and global levels.