NCJ Number
98705
Date Published
1985
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Terrorism is examined in terms of the instrumental and organizational perspectives and the implications of each perspective for potential governmental responses to terrorism.
Abstract
The instrumental explanation regards violence as instrumental and intentional. Government and the terrorist organization are engaged in a typical adversarial relationship in which each tries to influence the other's behavior. The terrorist organization acts on its calculations of benefits and bases its actions on perceptions of incentives and opportunities for surprise attack. In contrast, the organizational process approach assumes that a political organization's main purpose is to maintain itself and that terrorist actions are outcomes of the organization's internal dynamics. Under this perspective, an individual may join the organization to belong or to acquire status rather than because of belief in the organization's ideology. The organization continues to commit terrorist acts regardless of the political results. Under the organizational analysis, the government's task is to encourage disintegration of the organization without provoking the terrorist group to desperation. Under the instrumental approach, the government has two alternatives: (1) defense and (2) deterrence through preemption and retaliation. A total of 21 reference notes are supplied.