The Political Economy of Terrorism [Paperback]

Walter Enders (Author), Todd Sandler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 7, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0521616506 | ISBN-13: 978-0521616508 | Edition: 1

Presenting a widely accessible approach to the study of terrorism, this volume combines economic methods with political analysis and realities. It applies economic methodology--theoretical and empirical--with political analysis to the study of domestic and transnational terrorism, to provide a qualitative and quantitative investigation of terrorism in a balanced up-to-date presentation for students, policymakers, researchers, and the general reader. Included are historical aspects of the phenomenon, a discussion of watershed events, the rise of modern-day terrorism, examination of current trends, the dilemma of liberal democracies, evaluation of counterterrorism, and analysis of hostage incidents.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Those seeking solid analysis instead of the unsupported assumptions, deliberately dire predictions, and partisan prescriptions that comprise much of the current discourse on terrorism will want to read Walter Enders and Todd Sandler's The Political Economy of Terrorism. For policy makers, it should be required fare. Reflecting more than a decade of quantitative research, the authors tackle a range of policy-relevant questions, concluding that terrorists are not mindless fanatics, but rationsal actors with a sound grasp of risks and returns, and that a number of the assumptions upon which our sometimes less-than traditional counter-terrorist policies are based cannot be supported with rigorous analysis." Brian Michael Jenkins, noted terrorism authority and the Senior Advisor to the President of the RAND Corporation


"The Political Economy of Terrorism is the first comprehensive treatment of terrorism that integrates game theory with a statistical analysis of data on terrorists behavior. Enders and Sandler have studied this problem for a number of years and provide a clear and insightful analysis of the challenges that we face in developing policies for addressing terrorism. This book should be of great interest to both researchers and policy makers in the United States and abroad." Geoffrey Heal, Columbia University and Howard Kunreuther, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania


"This book is a masterful treatment of the modern scourge of terrorism using the tools of economics, political science, and other disciplines. It contains a wealth of information, both factual and analytical, about terrorism, and it uses a variety of analytical techniques to study the subject from the vantage point of both terrorists and those seeking to contain them, including the rational actor model, game theory, and statistical analysis. It should be of great value to researchers, policy makers, students, and others interested in this most important topic." Michael Intriligator, UCLA and the Milken Institute


"Enders and Sandler are perhaps the best social scientists doing systematic comparative study on terrorism. This is an essential statement of contemporary theory, evidence, and policy implications." Bruce Russett, Dean Acheson Professor of International Relations, Yale University

“Three cheers for Enders and Sandler whose new book fills a gaping hole in the literature on terrorism. Enders and Sandler have written what is, at least for now, the definitive book on the economic approach to understanding terrorism. Essential.”
Choice

"Th[is] book is a primer on some of the key national security issues on terrorism that are susceptible to economic analysis. it brings readers up to date on the history of terror, important findings in the social sciences about terror, and relevant policy issues. The book is a cogent brief for the economics perspective aimed at policy makers in the security field, and a good state-of-the-art document for economists who wish to move into this exciting research area." -- David Laitin, Journal of Economic Literature

"Enders and Sandlers book presensts a comprehensive and accessible coverage of theoretical models, data, empirical methods and results, institutions and history of terrorism. Other books tend to cover two or three of these areas, but all five are covered in The Political Economy of Terrorism, making the book the first of its kind in the social scientific study of terrorism." -Charles H. Anderton, International Review of Economics and Finance

"The Political Economy of Terrorism is a well-researched book that affirms the validity of new approaches to the study of terrorism....its findings should be read by policy-makers and others who will have to address the present and enduring threat of terrorism."
Stephen Sloan, University of Central Florida and Temple University, Perspectives on Politics

Book Description

The Political Economy of Terrorism presents a widely accessible approach to the study of terrorism that combines economic methods with political analysis and realities. It applies economic methodology--theoretical and empirical--with political analysis to the study of domestic and transnational terrorism. in so doing, the book provides both a qualitative and quantitative investigation of terrorism in a balanced up-to-date presentation that informs students, policymakers, researchers, and the general reader of the current state of knowledge of the subject. Included in the treatment are historical aspects of the phenomenon, a discussion of watershed events, the rise of modern-day terrorism, examination of current trends, the dilemma of liberal democracies, evaluation of counterterrorism, and analysis of hostage incidents.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 294 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (November 7, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521616506
• ISBN-13: 978-0521616508
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #339,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Terrorism and statistics, January 13, 2007

By 

Fernando Chavarri Dicenta (Madrid, Spain) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Political Economy of Terrorism (Paperback)

An interesting book in which the best aspects are the use of the theory of games and economic behavior to analyze the behavior of terorism. The tools used are powerful but the conclusions are insufficient.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars "Why Can't A Terrorist Be More Like An Economist?", September 21, 2011

By 

John Marke (Pacific, Mo United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Political Economy of Terrorism (Kindle Edition)

I have visions of Enders and Sandler breaking into a version of the famous song from My Fair Lady where exasperated Professor Henry Higgins asks "Why can't a woman be more like a man?" Only they ask: "Why can't a terrorist be more like an economist?" Now if that were the case things would be much less complicated and I would not be writing a negative review! But, unfortunately, that is not the case.

Few things in this world can be reduced to one independent variable. Terrorism is an enormously complex phenomena and it stretches credulity to suggest rational choice theory is anything but a waste of time and money in this context. But without the epistemic underpinning of rational choice there is no microeconomic modeling, there is no game theory....and a lot of political economists would be out of a job.

Rational choice theory and game theory do not work in complex adaptive systems, especially in terrorism. It fails to adequately describe, explain, or predict.