Europe Must Deal With the Breeding of Terrorism Within Its Borders

Room for Debate

In light of the revelation that at least one of those responsible for the attacks in Paris may have entered Europe with a group of asylum seekers, it will be tempting for European leaders to heed calls from far right parties and fearful citizens to abandon existing laws and policies that afford protection to those fleeing violence and persecution.

Unfortunately, while heeding such calls may be politically appealing, doing so won't stop terrorism within Europe. Indeed, barring the door to refugees would be akin to sticking a finger in a leaking dike while water threatens to pour over the top.

For one thing, tightening migration policies would do nothing to address the fundamental underlying causes of terrorist attacks: namely, the appeal of radicalization to a small, but committed, segment of the marginalized and disaffected already living within the European Union, many of whom are citizens. While tragically misguided, participation in such attacks can give psychologically disenfranchised individuals a sense of power and belonging. However effective and proactive law enforcement and counterterrorism units may be, until the sources of alienation and discontent are vanquished, more homegrown terrorists are likely to emerge.

Unfortunately, many European Union countries have reduced expenditures designed to combat security threats, even while they seem to be steadily increasing. Until security and defense expenditures match demands, such dangers can be expected to grow not abate.

Moreover, abandoning normative and juridical commitments to displaced people will likewise do nothing to address the problem of the many thousands of E.U. nationals who have traveled to the Middle East to serve as foreign fighters with ISIS, Al Qaeda or other radical groups. Some of these individuals become disillusioned after arriving in the field — their romanticized notions of life as a jihadi dispelled — but others become true believers. Such individuals can pose significant security threats to the countries of which they are citizens upon their return home.

All this being said, E.U. member states may have compelling political, economic and/or social reasons for revisiting their immigration and asylum policies. The disjointed, uneven and inequitable distribution of responsibility for caring for the currently displaced provides compelling evidence in support of the need for reform and a rethinking of current approaches toward burden-sharing, off-shoring and resettlement. But to think that abandoning traditional liberal values and policies toward the world's most vulnerable is going to halt terrorist attacks or defeat ISIS is simply wishful thinking.

Robust and comprehensive responses to ISIS and other extremist groups are required, but the targets should be violent nonstate actors and their sponsors not those fleeing the wrath of these loathsome monsters.