Analysing post-9/11 Transatlantic counter-terrorism cooperation

This research seeks to lend empirical support to the claim that the levels of the intra-alliance counterterrorism cooperation within NATO vary with the levels of the institutionalization of counterterrorism -as a specific issue area- since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (9/11). The aim of this dissertation is two-fold. First, it attempts to explore possible variations of the institutionalization of counterterrorism within the Alliance across the specific set of domains within NATO in the post-9/11 era by benefiting from the theoretical and methodological toolkits of new-institutionalist theories and by following an analytically eclectic approach. Second, this dissertation aims to explore the relationship between the intra-alliance counterterrorism cooperation and the institutionalization of counterterrorism within NATO in the post-9/11 era. To explore the variations of the institutionalization of counterterrorism within the Alliance, we have assessed the institutionalization of counterterrorism -as a specific issue area- within the specific set of domains namely; Capability Development, Intelligence Sharing and the Military Operations. To be more precise, the institutionalization of counterterrorism within NATO is assessed within these specific sets of domains separately to be able to measure the overall levels of the institutionalization of counterterrorism within NATO. The findings on the assessment of the institutionalization of counterterrorism within the Alliance suggest that the institutionalization of counterterrorism from its initial emergence in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to its subsequent expansion, has accelerated specifically after the endorsement of the new Strategic Concept in 2010. Since then, the overall levels of the institutionalization of counterterrorism within the Alliance have been increasing. The effects of this increase on the intra-alliance counterterrorism cooperation analyzed throughout the research. Keywords: Counter-terrorism, Institutionalization, Intra-alliance cooperation, NATO, Transatlantic Relations