Global Alert: The Rationality of Modern Islamist Terrorism and the Challenge to the Liberal Democratic World

Many associate terrorism with irrational behavior and believe only lunatics could perpetuate such horrific acts. Global Alert debunks this myth by anatomizing the rationale behind modern terrorism. It draws a distinct picture of its root and instrumental causes and plots the different stages of a terrorist attack, from indoctrination and recruitment to planning, preparation, and launch.

Global Alert also exposes the measured exploitation of democratic institutions by terrorists to further their goals. Despite its strong capabilities and extensive resources, the modern liberal-democratic state is nevertheless subject to the rules of war, which partially restrict the state's ability to operate and maneuver. Boaz Ganor shows how terrorist organizations exploit these values to paralyze or neutralize the states they oppose. In outlining this new "hybrid" terrorist organization and its activity in both the military–terrorist arena and the political–welfare arena, Ganor advances an international doctrine for governing military operations between state and nonstate actors as part of a new type of armed conflict termed "multidimensional warfare."

Boaz Ganor is the founder and executive director of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ICT), the Ronald Lauder Chair for Counter-Terrorism, and the dean of the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya. He has served as an advisor and/or a consultant to the Israeli Counter-Terrorism Bureau, the Israeli National Security Council, and the Israeli Ministry of Defense.