Trust and Communication in Cross-Border Counterterrorism Networks.

Abstract

The effective implementation of national homeland security strategies is particularly challenging at the international border, where local actors are the front line of defense, and where security professionals face complex obstacles to cooperation for shared security goals. Despite their importance, these local actors are often overlooked in policy planning and scholarly analyses. As a result, political scientists and public policy scholars are at a loss to explain why some security communities are more effective than others when critical emergencies test the limits of carefully laid plans.

I argue that the development of interpersonal trust in a networked setting can explain this variation in observed outcomes. Dyadic-level trust is a form of social capital that allows actors from diverse bureaucracies to overcome substantial legal and organizational barriers in the face of limited resources and potentially large threats.

In the homeland security context, individuals often function under tremendous pressure and in high-stress situations. Under such conditions, the setting for the development of trust begins as a result of interactions that give professionals the opportunity to get to know other in formal and informal non-emergency settings. However, while formal institutions such as mandated exercises and meetings provide an important opportunity to meet, they are not sufficient for trust development. Instead, repeated interactions set the stage for the formation of trust relationships as individuals have the opportunity to demonstrate their competence under pressure and share important and relevant information. Depending on the situation, interpersonal trust can act as a complement or a substitute for institutional requirements, laws and procedures.

My dissertation seeks to explain how interpersonal trust develops at the individual and community levels in the high-stakes environment of domestic counterterrorism. My research utilizes social network surveys complemented by qualitative interviews with a difficult-to-reach population to map networks of homeland security professionals and explain how trust develops in one international border security community. A more complete understanding of how interpersonal trust relationships interact with institutional mandates is important for policymakers seeking the most effective use of homeland security resources, and I conclude practical policy recommendations for facilitating trust in other homeland security settings.