Security through aid: countering violent extremism and terrorism with Australia’s aid program

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The paper argues that countering violent extremism (CVE) and terrorism are international security and development issues. Australia’s foreign aid should be used to strengthen resilience to violent extremist ideologies. Improving governance in weak states can help to deny terrorists the easy recruiting grounds of lawless communities.

The ASPI report argues that there are  several ways to better leverage our foreign aid program to counter terrorism and violent extremism.

  1. Where a clear need has been identified, implement direct CVE aid programs
  2. Apply a CVE and counter-terrorism ‘filter’ to our aid programs
  3. Develop targeted reporting on CVE aid programs
  4. Use InnovationXchange to explore avenues for implementing CVE into the aid strategy
  5. Share information on CVE and aid
  6. Lead the debate to modernise official development assistance (ODA) reporting

Creative tension: Parliament and national security

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This paper argues that enhancing parliament’s role in national security will reinforce Executive accountability, improve the quality of public debate over national security and serve to strengthen the foundations of Australia’s parliamentary democracy.

There are several measures that would materially improve parliament’s role in the conduct of national security: 

  • enhance respect for parliament as the forum for consideration of national security issues by utilising the parliament’s existing procedures to more fully consider issues of foreign affairs, defence, intelligence and border security
  • develop parliamentarians’ education in national security by providing a new members’ orientation program focussed on national security
  • examine parliament’s exercise of war powers 
  • encourage parliamentary diplomacy 
  • a material improvement in parliament’s role demands more attention to increasing the human and financial resources available to key national security committees
  • undertake an examination of national security committee mandates, particularly in intelligence oversight