Consensus vs. Complexity: Challenges of Adaptability for the UN Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Framework & the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda

United Nations (UN) counter-terrorism (CT) policies are challenged by the emergence and resurgence of different threat profiles on the security horizon because its response framework is focused on one type of terrorism and violent extremism (T/VE) threat. As there is increasing focus on the threat of extreme right-wing T/VE in the current social and political context in the West, for example, the challenges of adaptability and transferability become apparent. This is often due to the lack of flexibility and nuance of the conversation around CT at the UN level. This same lack of consideration for complexity can be exemplified through the case of the UN Security Council’s (UNSC) Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda and the subsequent application of gender mainstreaming strategies. This research brief examines the adaptability and transferability of the last two decades of UN CT legal and policy frameworks and architecture to the evolving threat landscape.