Instrumental explanations of terrorism suggest that the act of terrorism is a deliberate choice by a political actor crenshaw 1988. The risk of arrest and punishment for violating the law deters individuals from violating that law in the future. Deterring state sponsorship of nuclear terrorism council on. By peter faber for isn in pursuing the above goal, deterring terrorism is part of a post911 progression in. A study of higher education and unemployment as predictors of terrorism clare richardson abstract what country conditions breed terrorism. This chapter discusses challenges facing the department of homeland security dhs in the two domains of natural hazard and terrorism risk analysis. Fullydeveloped economic or econometric models of terrorism are quite rare, however, and often involve such things as psychic. The analysis of terrorism risk is less mature, and it lacks both historical validating data and sociological theory on. Stanford university press, sep 19, 2012 political science 352 pages. The contribution of social movement theory to understanding. Applicability of traditional deterrence concepts and theory.
Terrorism and game theory over the last two decades, a small group of analysts in economics and political science have applied game theory to study terrorism,1 which involves the premeditated use or threat of use of violence or force on the part of terrorists to achieve a political objective through. Can terrorist groups or lone wolves be deterred and can deterrence theory be systematically applied to upgrading the capability of governments combating terrorism campaigns. An effective cyber deterrence strategy must be multilayered and use all instruments of us national power. States must deter problematic socioeconomic systems in order to prevent the individual from seeking out extreme measures for selfworth, which will, by extension, ultimately deter the terrorist organization. Contemporary state terrorism critical terrorism studies. Our focus on deterrence does not imply that other strategies do not have important roles to. In the course of this examination two major defects of the denial strategy are established and it is argued that the reintegrative punishment strategy of deterring terrorism has greater psychological validity because it confronts the issues of the alienation and reintegration of the terrorist. Deterrence theory, the most prominent choicebased theory, is based on the idea that people engage in crime when the anticipated benefits of committing a crime outweigh the likely costs of crime. In many parts of the world, it has been one of the most important threats to peace, security and stability. Jun 11, 2019 the second one is to theorize certain approaches for deterring vnsas which shall remain a key component in, but not the cornerstone of, national security strategies. Theory and practice of terrorism the american spectator.
Wilner addresses this perceived change by arguing for the application of deterrence theory in counterterrorism efforts, having laid the basis for this argument in his prior works including as a coeditor of the 2012 book, deterring terrorism. Terrorism clearly indicates that the nature of man has not changed, but three significant issues including commerce globalization, transfer of information and travel. Other strategies include persuasion or winning hearts and minds, economic aid and democratization, appeasement, and military force. Terrorist groups and other violent nonstate actors vnsas have. Researching nonstate actors in international security.
This book challenges that prevailing assumption and offers insight as to when. The viability of deterring terrorism filling the conceptual and analytical gap in deterrence research. Deterrence theory is less used in dealing with rogue states or. The second one is to theorize certain approaches for deterring vnsas which shall remain a key. Understanding terrorism american psychological association. He is the founding editor of the routledge journal, critical studies on terrorism. His latest books include deterring rational fanatics. Deterrence, rational choice, and routine activities or lifestyle theories of crime. Perspectives on terrorism is a journal of the terrorism research initiative and the center for terrorism and security studies. Knopf, terrorism and the fourth wave in deterrence research, deterring terrorism. His latest books include deterring rational fanatics and deterring terrorism. Deterring the smuggling of nuclear weapons in container. Sep 19, 2012 during the cold war, deterrence theory was the cornerstone of u. Davis 4 countercoercion, the power of failure, and the practical limits of deterring terrorism 95.
In practice, deterring terrorism requires tailoring threats against state and individual facilitators, diffusing the intended consequences of terrorism, and manipulating terrorist selfrestraints. Unfortunately, this book cant be printed from the openbook. The synchronization of credible and strategic threats with the life cycle stages of terrorist organizations, where actors learn to deter and be deterred, resolves many theoretical and historical. If you need to print pages from this book, we recommend downloading it as a pdf. Deterrence theory focused primarily on missiles, though, and despite large in. Contemporary state terrorism theory and practice edited by richard jackson, eamon murphy and scott poynting state violence and genocide in latin america the cold war years edited by marcia esparza, henry r. Theory and practice stanford ca, stanford university press, 2012. Different acts of terrorism are explained as responses to external stimuli, like government policies. Some psychologists believe terrorism is most accurately viewed through a political lens. Following the 911 terrorist attacks, however, popular wisdom dictated that terrorist organizations and radical fanatics could not be deterredand governments. In this paper, we produce evidence on terrorism being a prevalent issue, present a few pros and cons of applying each one of three selected criminological theories feminist criminology, cultural criminology, and rational choice theory to determine reasons to perform a special type of terrorist act, the jihad, and, after weighting up pros and cons, we come up with a decision on what theory.
Wenger, alex wilner and others attempt to answer in deterring terrorism theory and practice, which according to peter faber represents a firstcut attempt to apply deterrence theory systematically to the terrorist phenomenon. Matching realities with deterrence policy and practice. Following the 911 terrorist attacks, however, popular wisdom dictated that terrorist organizations and radical fanatics could not be deterred and governments shifted their attention to combating terrorism rather than deterring it. May 19, 2010 despite being theorised during the cold war, deterrence continues to play a central role in informing the states military and judicial responses. This essay proposes that social movement theory can contribute a necessary conceptual. However, contrary to deterrence ideology and get tough rhetoric, the bulk of research on the deterrent effects of harsher sentences fails to support these assertions. Following the 911 terrorist attacks, however, popular wisdom dictated that terrorist organizations and radical fanatics could not be deterred. Deterrence theory a doable reality or a hopeless cause. Deterrence in counter terrorism einternational relations.
The basis of nuclear doctrine during the cold war was deterrence. Jun 11, 2010 deterring terrorism is too vague a concept. Richard jackson is reader in international politics at the university of wales, aberystwyth. The definition of terrorism has been a difficult issue because of the heterogeneity of the behaviors.
Deterrence has been a standard practice in international politics, and a key. Following the 911 terrorist attacks, however, popular wisdom dictated that. When these and other deterrent leverages are applied simultaneously against various actors and processes involved in terrorism, coercion can be. Terrorism and game theory over the last two decades, a small group of analysts in economics and political science have applied game theory to study terrorism,1 which involves the premeditated use or threat of use of violence or force on the part of terrorists to achieve a political objective through intimidation or fear. Since the attacks of september 11th, the western world has labeled alqaeda and its leadership as suicidal and irrational terrorists hating the western way of life 2. Deterring rational fanatics provides a fullscale discussion of deterrence theory concepts and controversies, assessing the utility of relying on the logic of deterrence and coercion to counter contemporary terrorism. In this essay, martha crewshaw concludes that the difficulties associated with meeting the requirements for a successful strategy of deterrence suggest that governments and the nuclear power industry would be wise to emphasize prevention of the full range of insider, outsider, and combined insideroutsider terrorist threats from nonstate. Hughbank in the law enforcement community, we have multiple theories as to how a criminal act can be prevented or reacted to once committed. In particular, targeted killings directed against the taliban of afghanistan provide a vivid illustration of the impact. During the cold war, deterrence theory was the cornerstone of u. Countercoercion, the power of failure, and the practical limits of deterring terrorism, with frank harvey in deterring terrorism.
Deterring nonstate terrorist groupsthe case of hizballah. Targeted killings are the intentional slaying of individual terrorist leaders and facilitators undertaken with explicit governmental approval. Deterrence, rational choice, and routine activities or. The analysis of natural hazard risks is reasonably mature and is derived from both historical data and physicsbased modeling. The viability of deterring terrorism einternational relations. Knopf 2 deterring terrorism, not terrorists 46 janice gross stein 3 toward an analytic basis for influence strategy in counterterrorism 67 paul k. Only by engaging with the sociopolitical contexts from which terrorism. Targeted killings offer one way to empirically examine the theory and practice of deterring contemporary terrorists.
Relative deprivation theory holds that instead of an absolute standard of deprivation, a gap between expected and achieved welfare leads men to political violence. Following the 911 terrorist attacks, however, popular wisdom dictated that terrorist organizations and. Issn 23343745 online disclaimer, terms and conditions. This book will be of much interest to students of critical terrorism studies, critical security studies, terrorism and political violence and political theory in general. Likewise, we have begun to design strategies and tactics. Comparing theory and practice from universiteit leiden. In theory, theres no difference between theory and practice. We are currently experiencing intermittent display of pdf links on some article pages. The results suggest that unless the defender imposes high retaliation costs on the attacker, 100% inspection is likely to be needed, and deterrence with partial inspection may not be achievable in practice even though it is possible in theory. Deterrence as a counterterrorism strategy depends on a bottomup approach.
The viability of deterrence strategies in the 21st century. Wilner is a visiting fellow and lecturer at the munk school of global affairs at the university of toronto. The application of the social learning theory to domestic terrorist recruitment richard j. If you are unable to see the pdf link please follow the. While the irgc is employing its existing proxies and building new ones to fight isis and jabhat al nusra on the front lines, the militias are also already playing a role in deterring these sunni extremist groups from assaulting deeper into shia or alawite territories in iraq or syria. This paper aims to address the limitations of classical deterrence theory in dealing with violent nonstate actors vnsas. See jerry mark long, strategic culture, alqaida, and weapons of mass destruction, defense threat reduction agency 2006, 214. Society of revolutionary toilers of iranian kurdistan, commonly shortened to komalah kurdish. Deterring terrorism brings together prominent theorists to discuss the topic of deterrence in counterterrorism, offering a comprehensive overview of both, isbn 9780804782494 buy the deterring terrorism. The contribution of social movement theory to understanding terrorism colin j.
According to this approach the terrorist organization acts to achieve political ends. Wenger georgetown university press, submission summer 2017. This justified the american war on terror and led margaret thatcher to declare islam the new communism. The viability of deterrence strategies in the 21st century deterring terrorism free download as word doc. Theory and practice, andreas wenger and alex wilner eds. Theory and practice, edited by andreas wenger and alex wilner, stanford.
In this essay, martha crewshaw concludes that the difficulties associated with meeting the requirements for a successful strategy of deterrence suggest that governments and the nuclear power industry would be wise to emphasize prevention of the full range of insider, outsider, and combined insideroutsider terrorist. Psychological theories of terrorism terrorism has existed for long even before the advent of recorded history. Linkedin is the worlds largest business network, helping professionals like elli lieberman discover inside connections to recommended job. This work is licensed under a creative commons attribution 3. The application of social learning theory to domestic.
Originalityvalue in the aftermath of 911 attacks and us war on terrorism, the need arose to revisit the deterrence theory to address several changes such as rogue states, cyber. Nevertheless, while denial and punishment strategies may yield shortterm benefits, such policies have proven unable to remedy the issue of terrorism in the longer term. The law enforcement approach to terrorism derives from the same deterrence theory that forms the basis of criminal law in general. Deterrence theory an overview sciencedirect topics.
In the years since 911, they have become a cornerstone of u. It frequently makes headlines, threatening or attacking governments, private. Beck department of sociology, stanford university abstract the study of terrorism and political violence has been characterized by a lack of generalizable theory and methodology. View elli liebermans professional profile on linkedin. Iss 23343745 88 augus 2018 perspectives on terrorism volume 12, issue 4 kruck, andreas. Following the 911 terrorist attacks, however, popular wisdom dictated that terrorist organizations and radical fanatics could not be deterredand governments shifted their attention to combating terrorism rather than deterring it. Terrorism has arguably been one of the defining factors of our age. Conversely, the person is deterred from crime when the costs of crime outweigh the expected or predicted gains pratt et al. In most instances people who consciously plan and execute terrorist acts do so under the self. Qaeda, and deterring states from sponsoring wmd terrorism, but these scholars have not yet articulated an overarching approach to deterring terrorism. Reviewed by joshua sinai terrorism research initiative.