DISCUSSING CONCEPTS OF TERRORIST RATIONALITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR COUNTERTERRORISM POLICY

Many researchers on terrorism tend to characterize terrorists as instrumentally rational and politically motivated. Empirically, however, terrorists often seem to deviate from instrumentally rational behavior and to be motivated by other than political reasons. This paper details the explanatory power of various concepts of terrorist rationality incorporating motivations beyond political ones. Results show that none of the concepts discussed accounts for all terrorist actions but all of the concepts are capable of explaining certain aspects of the phenomenon of terrorism. A discussion follows on the appropriateness of specific counterterrorism measures for the concepts of rationality and motivations identified.