The Global War on Terror Reconsidered: A Comparative Account of the Diffusion of Counter-Terrorism Laws and Norms from the US to Syria and Egypt

Abstract

The US-led Global War on Terror (GWOT) has left a lasting imprint on counter-terrorism (CT) legislation worldwide and continues to shape how states define, prosecute, and suppress terrorism. By reconciling competing arguments in the literature -one that asserts US influence on global CT laws and another that emphasizes domestic/regional factors- this thesis proposes a third more nuanced model of intangible diffusion; it demonstrates that GWOT-era legal transplants extend beyond formal legislation and have shaped political narratives, judicial interpretations, and security practices in Egypt and Syria. Through a comparative interdisciplinary approach that combines a critical legal approach with insights from political science, this research finds that Egypt and Syria exhibited strikingly similar trends in adopting GWOT-era legislation despite their differing political alignments with the US. Moreover, while both jurisdictions experienced a legal transplantation of GWOT laws and norms, the diffusion pathways differed depending on each country’s relation to the US. Thus, this thesis offers essential insights into how authoritarian regimes capitalized on GWOT frameworks to legitimize and institutionalize extrajudicial practices that have disproportionately affected Muslims and Islamic groups while maintaining international legitimacy. This study argues that US influence has been instrumental in shaping authoritarian CT practices in four keyways: 1. Diffusing CT norms through military and non-military mechanisms, including coercion, incentives, and emulation. 2. Transferring an anti-Islamic security discourse that disproportionately targets politically active Sunni Muslim populations. 3. Providing legal and rhetorical tools for regimes to centralize power, weaponizing CT against activists, political opponents, and human rights lawyers. 4. Facilitating and legitimizing torture and civil liberty abuses under the guise of CT.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Law