The Transformation of TerrorismDoron Zimmermann and Andreas Wenger
International Relations and Security Network
January 2003
This book reappraises the paradigm of "New Terrorism" and addresses the following questions: Has terrorism undergone substantial change? Is New Terrorism really new, and if so, in what way? And what, in fact, constitutes New Terrorism? The author argues that terrorism is more dangerous than generally suggested due to the almost limitless "impact scalability" given to political violence movements through the development of precision delivery systems for conventional and unconventional weapons. Moreover, "the reciprocal dynamic of threat perception" - the pressure felt by terrorist organizations to realize the worst fears of Western societies and governments - makes the threat of a mass casualty terrorist attack more real than abstract.
Table of Contents
Contents (PDF, 2 pages, 36.3 KB)
List of Abbreviations (PDF, 2 pages, 53.9 KB)
Abstract (PDF, 2 pages, 88.5 KB)
1. Questions, Uncertainties and Ambiguity: Discussing the Phenomenon of Terrorism (PDF, 15 pages, 193.4 KB)
2. Adumbrating the "New Terrorism" (PDF, 5 pages, 123.8 KB)
3. Reappraising a "New" Kind of Terrorism (PDF, 14 pages, 188.3 KB)
4. The Double-edged Nature of Impact Scalability and the Dynamic of Reciprocal Threat Perception (PDF, 10 pages, 155.3 KB)
5. Understanding Impact Scalability, the Dynamic of Reciprocal Threat Perception and their Strategic Implications: The Case for an Actor-Centered Approach to Terrorism Research, (PDF, 11 pages, 166.1 KB)
Bibliography, (PDF, 16 pages, 194.5 KB)