The Terrorist’s Dilemma: How Nonstate Actors Manage Covert Organizations

April 07, 2023 00:59:29
The Terrorist’s Dilemma: How Nonstate Actors Manage Covert Organizations
Irregular Warfare Podcast
The Terrorist’s Dilemma: How Nonstate Actors Manage Covert Organizations

Apr 07 2023 | 00:59:29

/

Show Notes

Be sure to visit the Irregular Warfare Initiative's new website, www.irregularwarfare.org, to see all of the new articles, podcast episodes, and other content the IWI team is producing!

It’s been described as the “terrorist’s dilemma”—the trade-offs between maintaining security and exercising command and control that terrorist organizations must make. But how can counterterrorism campaigns be designed to exploit that dilemma? What do government agencies and organizations charged with countering terrorist threats need to know about those pressures? And how should an understanding of the dilemma inform the development of counterterrorism policy?

To explore those questions, hosts Jeff Phaneuf and Adam Darnley-Stuart are joined by two guests with deep expertise on the subject. Dr. Jake Shapiro directs the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project at Princeton University and is the author of the book that forms the basis of this discussion, The Terrorist’s Dilemma: Managing Violent Covert Organizations. And retired Colonel Chris Costa is currently the executive director of the International Spy Museum and has decades of experience running and participating in intelligence and special operations around the world.

 

Intro music: "Unsilenced" by Ketsa

Outro music: "Launch" by Ketsa

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Other Episodes

Episode 0

October 09, 2020 00:52:46
Episode Cover

Counterinsurgency in the Philippines: An Inside Look at Partner Warfare

This episode is a deep dive into insurgency and counterinsurgency in the Philippines, presented through the perspectives of two guests with many years of...

Listen

Episode 0

May 24, 2021 00:44:11
Episode Cover

Irregular Warfare in the Next World War

What would a conflict with China look like? How will irregular warfare fit into a conflict before and during large-scale combat operations? Retired Admiral...

Listen

Episode 0

October 23, 2020 00:51:31
Episode Cover

The Costs and Benefits of Unconventional Warfare and Subversion

What are unconventional warfare and foreign subversion? Will they be important in an era of great power competition? What are some of the second-...

Listen