“Terrorism cannot prevail if the people refuse to be terrorised”

Last week Sciences Po welcomed two exceptional speakers for a combined lecture on “The Euro-Atlantic Solidarity Against Terrorism”. Former Prime Minister of France, Bernard Cazeneuve, and Jeh Johnson, the US Secretary of Homeland Security under President Obama, exchanged words on the rise and evolution of terrorism, as well as their responses to it. Both stressed the need for effective collaboration between nations in order to mount a powerful and unified global response.

The two politicians had themselves worked together closely during Cazeneuve’s tenure as Minister of the Interior, notably following the Paris attacks of January and November 2015. An interaction that consisted of intelligence sharing and military and judicial cooperation, as they explained at Sciences Po. Particular emphasis was placed on the importance of legal exchange in issues surrounding encryption and digital tracking, both of which are largely being developed by multinationals based in the States.

Johnson, who provided the keynote address, ended his lecture on a hopeful note. Above all, he reminded students that “terrorism cannot prevail if the people refuse to be terrorised”.

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