Deterring Terrorism

Deterring Terrorismbrings together prominent theorists to discuss the topic of deterrence in counterterrorism, offering a comprehensive overview of both the theory and practice. It first identifies how and where theories of deterrence apply to counterterrorism, shedding light on how traditional and less-traditional notions of deterrence can be applied to novel and asymmetric threats. It then applies these theoretical propositions to real world threats, evaluating specific terrorist groups, conflicts, and events with a view to establishing the role deterrence has within a dynamic counterterrorism strategy, whether some terrorist organizations might be more predisposed than others to deterrence and why, what particular elements within terrorist networks and what stages within the terrorism process are most susceptible to deterrence, and how metrics for measuring the success and failure of counterterrorism deterrent strategies can be established. Taken together these threads provide a foundation for developing effective counterterrorism policies to help states contain or curtail the nature and ferocity of the terrorism challenges they face.

Andreas Wenger is Professor of International Security Policy and Director of the Center for Security Studies at the ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal institute of Technology), Switzerland. Alex Wilner is Senior Researcher at the Center for Security Studies at the ETH Zurich, Switzerland.