Deterrence Theory — A Doable Reality or a Hopeless Cause?

In pursuing the above goal, Deterring Terrorism is part of a post-9-11 progression in thought. The initial belief was that terrorist organizations were irrational and therefore undeterrable. This assumption then had a direct impact on counterterrorism policy, which first privileged prevention, preemptive force and eradication over deterrence. This initial paradigm of terror, however, did not last. It was followed by a follow-on belief that terrorists were actually “rational fanatics” who did indeed have practical priorities. By shifting their focus in this way, counterterrorism experts “reintroduced the logic of deterrence into the terrorist equation.” It became possible, once again, to think about curtailing or containing this form of violence.