Countering the New Terrorism

Traces the recent evolution of international terrorism against civilian and U.S. military targets, looks ahead to where terrorism is going, and assesses how it might be contained. The authors consider the threat of information-based terrorism and of weapons of mass destruction, with an emphasis on how changes in the sources and nature of terrorism may affect the use of unconventional terror. The authors propose counterterrorism strategies that address the growing problem of homeland defense.

IAN O. LESSER (D. Phil., International Politics, St. Antony's College, OxfordUniversity) is a Senior International Policy Analyst at RAND whose areas of expertise include U.S. foreign policy and strategic planning, NATO and Mediterranean affairs, grand strategy and economic security, and international terrorism.

JOHN ARQUILLA (Ph.D., Political Science, Stanford University) is a RAND consultant and a professor of foreign policy at the United States Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.

DAVID F. RONFELDT (Ph.D., Political Science, Stanford University) is a senior social scientist at RAND whose research focus includes information revolution, netwar, cyberocracy, strategic swarming and the rise of transnational networks of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Michele Zanini (master's in public policy, Harvard University) is a researcher at RAND who has worked on a number of RAND research projects focusing on NATO strategy in the Balkans and Mediterranean, terrorism, and European defense planning.