Institutional Trajectories and Jihadist Terrorism Prevention: A Comparative Analysis of Intelligence Systems in Italy, France and Germany

Abstract

Title Institutional Trajectories and Jihadist Terrorism Prevention: A Comparative Analysis of Intelligence Systems in Italy, France and Germany Abstract This thesis provides a comparative analysis of the intelligence systems of Italy, France and Germany and their roles in preventing jihadist terrorism in Europe after 9/11. Even with a broadly comparable exposure to this jihadist threat, the three countries have experienced different empirical outcomes. The research question aims at investigating how different institutional trajectories in the development of intelligence systems explain structural divergences in jihadist terrorism prevention and how these divergences are linked with differences in terrorist attack frequency. The theoretical framework used in this thesis combines Constructivism, Securitization theory and New Institutionalism, interpreting intelligence structures as socially and institutionally embedded constructs rooted in national trajectories. The methodology consists in a qualitative comparative case study design through an explanatory content analysis of primary institutional sources. The findings reveal three distinct models: France has a centralized-executive model, Germany has a legalistic-federal model and Italy has an intermediate, hybrid-coordinated model. The divergences reflect...