Terrorism Prevention in the United States: A Policy Framework for Filling the CVE Void

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The absence of a terrorism prevention architecture represents a major strategic policy vulnerability in efforts to counter terrorism within the United States. This policy paper offers a framework of institutional and policy recommendations to help inform such a Terrorism Prevention strategy. Non-partisan in its approach, this Terrorism Prevention framework is characterized by four interlocking policy principles: rule of law, the individual, proportionality and public outreach. With its focus on constitutionality and narrowing the scope of government involvement in pre-criminal interventions, the Terrorism Prevention approach proposed here calls for a focused government effort calibrated to the nuances of the national security, legislative, and strategic-policy context of the United States. Its recommendations include changes to the United States Code related to ‘domestic terrorism’ offenses, the establishment of a multitiered interventions system, the assignment of Terrorism Prevention responsibilities to a lead federal department, and an expansion of private sector and civil society opportunities and responsibilities to counter violent extremism.