Much Ado about Nothing? Counterterrorist Legislation has Few Effects

Abstract

The events of 9/11 not only caused anger and fear among citizens the world over, but also led to counterterrorist legislation (CTL) in many countries. This paper identifies the most important determinants of passing CTL and the effects of such legislation on the likelihood of future terrorist attacks and on civil liberties. We particularly focus on the interplay between constitutionalized emergency provisions and CTL. We find that constitutional emergency provisions seem unrelated to CTL. It is not newly passed CTL, which drives civil liberties down, but, rather, the terrorist attacks themselves and the immediate and unmediated government responses to them.