DEMOCRACY AND AUTHORITARIANISM IN COUNTER-TERRORISM: AN ASYMMETRIC COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE POLISH AND AZERBAIJANI SYSTEMS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32999/ksu2307-8049/2026-4-23Keywords:
counterterrorism, comparative analysis, Poland, Azerbaijan, democratic oversight, radicalization prevention, international cooperation, anti-terrorism lawAbstract
This article presents a comparative analysis of anti-terrorism systems in Poland and Azerbaijan, examining their legal frameworks, institutional mechanisms, operational capacities, and international cooperation structures. The study adopts an asymmetric comparative approach, juxtaposing two systems rooted in fundamentally different political traditions, a consolidated European Union and NATO member state on one hand, and a post-Soviet authoritarian state in the South Caucasus on the other. The analysis is structured around six comparative dimensions: the statutory definition and scope of terrorism; legal safeguards governing surveillance and coercive measures; judicial standards in terrorism-related proceedings; preventive and social dimensions of counter-terrorism; the protection of victims of terrorism; and the architecture of international cooperation. The article argues that the effectiveness of any anti-terrorism system is structurally inseparable from the quality of democratic governance within the security sector. Poland, while subject to criticism regarding certain provisions of the 2016 Anti-Terrorist Actions Act, demonstrates a model broadly consistent with European democratic standards, underpinned by judicial oversight, normative integration within EU and NATO frameworks, and formal inclusion of radicalization prevention alongside repressive measures. Azerbaijan’s system, by contrast, is characterized by an overly broad statutory definition of terrorism, the systematic absence of independent judicial control over security services, documented instrumentalization of anti-terrorism legislation against political opposition and civil society, and the virtual absence of a preventive dimension. The article further examines the current challenges facing both systems, including hybrid threats, online radicalization, the return of foreign fighters, and cyberterrorism, and identifies directions for reform. The comparative perspective leads to the conclusion that multilateral integration within democratic structures constitutes a structural multiplier of counter-terrorism capacity, while radicalization prevention is a necessary condition for long-term effectiveness that purely repressive systems cannot achieve.
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