Item Details
Skip Navigation Links
   ActiveUsers:2259Hits:20990237Skip Navigation Links
Show My Basket
Contact Us
IDSA Web Site
Ask Us
Today's News
HelpExpand Help
Advanced search

In Basket
  Journal Article   Journal Article
 

ID152869
Title ProperWhy violence abates
Other Title Information imposed and elective declines in terrorist attacks
LanguageENG
AuthorBecker, Michael
Summary / Abstract (Note)Previous scholarship on variations in violence within a given terrorist organization has primarily focused on factors that lead to the inception or destruction of that organization. However, violence varies substantially even during the “prime” of an organization's life. This article aims to understand why violence varies in the short term within many organizations, and places a special focus on declines in violence. Specifically, I argue that terrorists face countervailing incentives in terms of how much violence to use, and that when declines in violent activity do occur, they can be divided into two types: a) elective declines, which are usually temporary and used for organizational or reputational recovery; and b) imposed declines, which are dictated by changes in the relative capability of an organization, and are more likely to be permanent. The causal pathways to each type of decline are discussed, and a plausibility probe, consisting of case studies of three terrorist organizations, is then developed to substantiate this theory. The findings have notable implications for counterterrorism policy, as they illustrate not only when and why terrorists choose to curtail violent attacks, but also the conditions that determine whether declines in violence are temporary or permanent.
`In' analytical NoteTerrorism and Political Violence Vol. 29, No.1-3; Jan-Jun 2017: p.215-235
Journal SourceTerrorism and Political Violence Vol: 29 No 1-3
Key WordsHizbollah ;  Tamil Tigers ;  Peace Processes ;  Real Irish Republican Army ;  Violence Abandonment


 
 
Media / Other Links  Full Text