Reflection: the “war on terror”, Islamophobia and radicalisation twenty years on

In essence, the “war on terror” has normalised the securitisation of Muslims and regularised the existence of Islamophobia. This has increased the likelihood of radicalisation, not reduced it. In terms of foreign policy, Afghanistan remains mired in complex multifaceted conflicts that have much to do with the presence of external actors, even though, twenty years on, the US and its allies have by and large left the country. The invasion of Iraq was motivated by a geo-strategic interest in the Middle East, with non-existent “weapons of mass destruction” used as a justification. Preventing and countering violent extremism, or its precursor, the somewhat nebulous term, deradicalisation, have put the cart before the horse. However, the emergence of the far right in the last few years has now become normalised in the countering violent extremism milieu.