Professor Sam Makinda - Security and counter-terrorism
The antidote against terrorism is being discovered at Murdoch University and involves education, tolerance, inter-cultural dialogue and understanding.
Professor Sam Makinda chairs Australia’s first undergraduate course in security and counter-terrorism studies (PDF 163kb) at Murdoch University. The course provides students with a critical understanding of the nature of security, the causes of terrorism and the effects of counter-terrorism measures in Australia and other parts of the world.
The Security, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program, developed by Professor Makinda, suggests a multiple approach to the ‘war on terror’, involving diplomacy, development, capacity building and military force.
Expertise in the United Nations and security
Dedicated to the search for global understanding and safety, Professor Makinda has held consultancies with UN agencies. He has also held research positions in the UK, USA and Indonesia, and was previously a Research Specialist in the Foreign Affairs Section of the Parliamentary Research Service at the Australian Federal Parliament. He has also lectured to senior military personnel at the Australian Defence College in Canberra.
Currently a member of the Australian Foreign Minister’s National Consultative Committee for International Security Issues, Professor Makinda is investigating the impact of terrorism and counter-terrorism measures in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Indonesia and several African countries.
His current major research interests include the United Nations in global politics, the changing nature of global security, and international relations theory. As a result of his extensive research and experience, Professor Makinda strongly advocates the use of confidence-building organisations, like the United Nations, to search for an effective antidote against terrorism.
He believes that enhancing global governance, rather than aggressive military counter-measures, is the key to resolving the problems that cause terrorism.
Global governance
A world leader in the field, Professor Makinda believes that global governance has the potential to address the conflicts, fractures and other factors that give rise to terrorism.
“It is by renewing and re-emphasising the norms, rules and institutions that underpin global governance that the United States and the rest of international society can most effectively tackle terrorism,”
“Terrorism, as a technique of warfare, seeks to undermine the rules and values of society and to intimidate people, so that they don’t go about their business. Alarmingly, new counter-terrorism measures in many countries have very similar impacts on citizens.”
"We are training a new breed of global leaders and we hope that graduates of the Security, Terrorism and Counterterrorism course will have a greater understanding of global security issues and a more integrated and peaceful approach to tackling them," said Professor Makinda.
Discover related areas of study:
|
