The threat of terrorism precipitated legislative, policy and popular measures that have significantly undermined civic space across the globe. This is directly traced back to the international security-focused dynamic, also known as the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT), that emerged in 2001 following the September 11 (9/11) attacks, and the embedding of international matrices in the global counterterrorism architecture in order to legitimise and sustain security measures.4 This has included through international frameworks requiring countries to adopt and implement laws, and policies to address counterterrorism; creation of new entities with various counterterrorism mandates and expanding regulatory scopes; increasing justification and delivery of development assistance based on counterterrorism and other national, regional, and international security imperatives; increasing military assistance, including regional peacekeeping and counterterrorism operations, and deepening the presence of western military and security forces through security cooperation and assistance.

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