Terrorism Research: Annotated Bibliography on Global Threats

Disrupting Terrorist Financing: The FATF Model

Gardner, K. L. (2007). Fighting terrorism the FATF way. Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations, 13(3), 325–345.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is considered a successful organization in terms of investigating how global terrorism is funded. Without financial backing, the complexities required to carry out terrorism attacks would not be possible. Kathryn Gardner argues that other aspects of investigating potential terrorist organizations could benefit from duplicating the FATF model. The three factors Gardner identifies as most pertinent to these investigations are coordination, flexibility, and government commitment.

Identifying terrorist threats and fighting global terror must be a joint effort. Only through coordinated action on the part of law enforcement agencies can terrorism be properly tracked and threats properly evaluated. Although scholars have not agreed upon a universal protocol for conduct, they do concur that terrorist cells are interconnected. It is very rare for a terrorist action to be carried out by a single individual or a small isolated unit, as in the Oklahoma City bombing. Organizations can be widespread — too expansive for a single group to monitor. The only effective response is to work together as a cohesive team.

Understanding Terrorism: Images, Limits, and False Flag Theories

Jenkins, P. (2003). Images of terror: What we can and can't know about terrorism. Walter de Gruyter, Inc.: Hawthorne, NY.

The purpose of Jenkins's work is to explain many of the modern issues related to terrorism, particularly post-9/11 legal protocol and how the government determines which potential threats are serious and which are unlikely. One of the most important aspects of this text is identifying what those who fight terrorism can and cannot know regarding the ongoing war on terror. While the government has means by which to gather information, some organizations have yet to be penetrated, and threats from these sources cannot be anticipated in advance. Other real limitations make it impossible to eliminate all terrorist actions throughout the world. Jenkins posits that only through genuine understanding can meaningful change be enacted.

Jenkins's book addresses many aspects of terrorism that help people understand something most ordinary citizens struggle to comprehend: the enemy's acceptance that any death is acceptable, including their own. Terrorism is a complicated issue, and many of its dimensions must be carefully examined before the whole can be understood. Of particular relevance to potential future threats is the concept of the false flag — the idea that Americans might dismiss genuine terrorist threats, blaming the government for carrying them out instead. Assertions of false flags were prevalent during the Boston Marathon bombing of 2013, for example. A faction of Americans still maintains that 9/11 was a false flag event and that Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda were scapegoats for actions perpetrated by the American government. The false flag theory impedes government action because it makes it harder to convince the public of real threats and reflects a deepening distrust in government — a dynamic that in turn makes it easier for terrorist organizations to target and severely damage the country.

Nacos, B. L. (2003). The terrorist calculus behind 9/11: A model for future terrorism? Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, 26(1), 1–16.

The 9/11 Attacks as a Blueprint for Future Terrorism

The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks were the most horrific attacks on American soil in recent history and could arguably be considered the worst in the nation's entire history. The Middle East had been a hotbed of terrorist organization for decades, but it was not widely believed that these factions could inflict such horrific or far-reaching damage, due in part to preconceived notions about their organizational capacity. Although fundamentalist extremists had been a concern for some time, it was not until this event that they became the primary threat to the safety of the United States and its interests. According to Brigitte Nacos, the attack was, from the perspective of the terrorists, an unmitigated success: it brought universal attention to their cause and, by demonstrating their ability to conduct such an attack, solidified the resolve of those opposed to the United States.

In addition to their legacy of bloodshed, the attacks shaped international relations between the United States and the rest of the world, particularly the Middle East, and continue to shape how the government responds to potential terrorist threats. The manner in which the attacks were executed also served as a blueprint for subsequent acts of terrorism. Attacks carried out since then, both in the United States and elsewhere, have shared certain commonalities with 9/11, including the network of terrorists involved and the methods by which they were financially supported. The government has therefore developed ways to predict and prevent potential threats by continuing to study how the 9/11 attacks were planned and carried out.

Ranstorp, M. (2007). Introduction: Mapping terrorism research — challenges and priorities. In M. Ranstorp (Ed.), Mapping terrorism research: State of the art, gaps, and future direction (pp. 1–29). Routledge: New York, NY.