The Business of Terror: Al-Qaeda as a Multi-National Corporation

Abstract

According to Robert Gilpin, a multi-national corporation (MNC) can be defined as, "a firm that owns and manages economic units in two or more countries." In many ways, Al Qaeda, and particularly its leader Usama bin Laden (henceforth UBL), reflect this concept of an MNC, albeit this structure pursues political goals rather than economic ones. The organization consists of multi-national actors who operate in 40-50 countries world-wide. While the "headquarters" provides broad direction and support, local organizations are tailored to perceived local goals, often using local "employees." Overall, al-Qaeda must contend with office politics, operations, budgets, and even embezzlement by employees. Moreover, its leadership normally resorts to many aspects of foreign direct investment and joint ventures as part of the day to day organizational management. This is due to the economic and business backgrounds of UBL and many of his cohorts.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2004
Accession Number
ADA426867

Entities

People

  • Jodi M. Vittori

Organizations

  • University of Denver

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Business Administration
  • Civil Rights
  • Commerce
  • Corporations
  • Foreign Relations
  • Governments
  • Information Exchange
  • International Law
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Law
  • National Security
  • Personnel Management
  • Public Administration
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Business

Readers

  • Economics
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.