The Contrasting Ethical Foundations of Terrorism in the 1980s
Abstract
Despite many other disagreements, experts on terrorism agree that during the 1980s there has been an increase not only in the total volume of terrorist incidents worldwide, but in the number of fatalities caused by terrorists as well. Indeed, terrorist operations claimed more than twice as many lives between 1980 and 1986 as in the previous seven years. A variety of reasons account for these increases. The most obvious explanation, perhaps, is the proliferation of terrorist groups an the attendant increases in the number of operations carried out and casualties caused. Another explanation might be the success of counterterrorist measures taken by the international community: heightened security measures have made earlier terrorist tactics, such as embassy takeovers and airline hijackings, more difficult to accomplish. Moreover, public attention is not as readily claimed as it once was. Terrorists have been forced to undertake more spectacular and, unfortunately, bloodier deeds in order to achieve the same effect. Another explanation might be that state-sponsorship has given some terrorists access to greater resources and thus the ability to mount increasingly destructive attacks.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA217004
Entities
People
- Bruce Hoffman
Organizations
- RAND Corporation