We bomb, therefore we are: the evolution of terrorist group life cycles

Download
Author
Lockett, Charles E.
Date
1994-03Advisor
McCormick, Gordon H.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The potential for conflict between the United States and terrorist groups is higher than in the recent past. This thesis attempts to understand the underlying causes for the rise and fall of terrorist groups by developing a theory that explains the evolution of their life cycles. This thesis argues that once organizational issues take priority over instrumental ones terrorism becomes self-defeating and survival threatening for the terrorist group. Since this priority shift occurs as a natural consequence of their internal dynamics. the seeds of a terrorist group's destruction exist within the group itself. Factors external to the terrorist group. however, can suppress the germination of those seeds and allow the group to survive. The dynamic interaction of these internal and external influences shapes a terrorist group's life cycle. Understanding the nature of this process is important for the design of counterterrorist policy.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.Collections
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION: A DIFFERENT KIND OF TERRORISM
Krebs, Kristie L. (Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School, 2019-06);This thesis demonstrates that in addition to constituting a human rights violation, female genital mutilation can also function as a form of terrorism against women and girls. Much like a terrorist act, female genital ... -
AN ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT COUNTERTERRORISM EFFORTS IN SPAIN AND FRANCE: WHAT’S CHANGED?
Valenzuela Balderas, Diego Emmanuel (Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School, 2019-09);In order to determine best practices in response to a continually changing security environment, this research assesses how the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and ISIS-inspired terrorist attacks carried out by the ... -
Farewell to arms: a plan for evaluating the 2001 authorization for use of military force and its alternatives
Kirschbraun, Jessica Lynn (Monterey, California: Naval Postgraduate School, 2014-09);On September 14, 2001, Congress passed the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). Over the past 13 years, the AUMF has served as the primary legal foundation for the use of force against terrorist organizations ...