Deterring Terrorism Theory and Practice [Hardcover]

During the Cold War, deterrence theory was the cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy. Following the 9/11 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.This book challenges that prevailing assumption and offers insight as to when and where terrorism can be deterred. It first identifies how and where theories of deterrence apply to counterterrorism, highlighting how traditional and less-traditional notions of deterrence can be applied to evolving terrorist threats. It then applies these theoretical propositions to real-world threats to establish the role deterrence has within a dynamic counterterrorism strategyand to identify how metrics can be created for measuring the success of terrorism deterrence strategies. In sum, it provides a foundation for developing effective counterterrorism policies to help states contain or curtail the terrorism challenges they face. The articles in the second section on deterring WMB terrorism contain insightful and important theoretical observations, the most important of which is the need to shift the emphasis in the theory from punishment to denial . . . The authors in this book make many important and valuable contributions. Suicidal terrorism is widely considered to pose insuperable problems for theories of deterrence. By bringing together deterrence theorists with terrorism specialists this volume rises to the challenge, furthering our understanding of both areas of inquiry and demonstrating the possibilities and limitations of coercive threats in the face of such an extreme test. The volume, as its editors acknowledge, is a first step in building the theoretical literature on this important subject. Deterring Terrorismbrings together prominent theorists to discuss the topic of deterrence in counterterrorism, offering a comprehensive overview of both the theorylcQ