Cutting it off at the source: an analysis of state cooperation against terrorist financing in the United Kingdom, Iran and Indonesia

Abstract

With four months left to the end of 2017, 891 terrorist attacks have already taken place worldwide, a phenomenon that requires money. Thus, there is a clear international need to cut off terrorist funds at source in order to decrease terrorists’ ability to perpetrate further attacks. Because the negative externalities derived from transnational terrorism cross borders, multilateral cooperation seems the best chance of countering them; however, not all states have been equally enthusiastic about joining international efforts. This paper aims to answer why states’ levels of commitment to multilateral efforts to counter terrorism and terrorist financing vary among countries by analysing the cases of the United Kingdom, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Indonesia. It also aims to contribute to the literature by arguing that more than one theoretical framework may sometimes be needed when analysing terrorism and mechanisms countering it. Hence, the realist, neoliberal institutionalists and constructivist lenses will be deployed to reveal how national interests, multilateral institutions such as the EU, the UN and ASEAN, and the role of identity and norms in shaping states’ behaviour, boosting or constraining cooperation, all matter in building understanding of states’ commitment to multilateral efforts in the fight against terrorism and terrorist financing.