During the Cold War, deterrence theory was the cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, however, popular wisdom dictated that terrorist organizations and radical fanatics could not be deterred-and governments shifted their attention to combating terrorism rather than deterring it. This book challenges that prevailing assumption and offers insight as to when and where terrorism can be deterred. It first identifies how and where theories of deterrence apply to counterterrorism, highlighting how traditional and less-traditional notions of deterrence can be applied to evolving terrorist threats. It then applies these theoretical propositions to real-world threats to establish the role deterrence has within a dynamic counterterrorism strategy-and to identify how metrics can be created for measuring the success of terrorism deterrence strategies. In sum, it provides a foundation for developing effective counterterrorism policies to help states contain or curtail the terrorism challenges they face.
"The articles in the second section on deterring WMB terrorism contain insightful and important theoretical observations, the most important of which is the need to shift the emphasis in the theory from punishment to denial . . . The authors in this book make many important and valuable contributions."
Contemporary Security Policy
"The volume, as its editors acknowledge, is a first step in building the theoretical literature on this important subject."
Perspectives on Terrorism
"Growing out of a 2009 conference on the applicability of deterrence theory to terrorism, an exceptional volume compiled by Wenger and Wilner simultaneously offers differing scholarly opinions while maintaining a linearity and development of ideas usually not accomplished in such works . . . [T]he book is strengthened by the specific attention it gives to the possibility of deterring WMD attacks,
