Terrorism and Business

In October 1999, the Academy's Midwest Consortium for International Security Studies co-sponsored a conference that drew together government officials, business leaders, and scholars to examine emerging terrorist threats that raise important concerns for key business sectors. Co-sponsored by DePaul University, the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations and other Chicago groups, the participants explored how the business community should respond to new challenges posed by cyberterrorism and international terrorism. The group also addressed the difficulty of achieving a balance between stronger regulations designed to restrict access to dangerous items, on the one hand, and the need to protect economic vitality and civil liberties on the other.

Conferees discussed approaches to tackling these issues through a mix of government policy and international institutions and agreements, such as the Biological Weapons Convention. Michael Sheehan of the US State Department, for example, emphasized that prevention of terrorism is part of a broader strategy of international commitments, all of which must be strengthened.

The proceedings of the meeting have been published as a double issue of the DePaul Business Law Journal (Vol. 12, no. 1-2, Fall/Spring 2000).

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