Cultural Potency and Unique Proficiency: A Comparison of Terror Attack Types

• In Event: The Behavior and Dynamics of Terrorist Organizations

Abstract

Violent extremist organizations often operate in turbulent environments with immense competition over resources and human capital. To survive in an unpredictable climate, these groups must foster creativity and produce innovative results. In this study, we examine methods of tactical innovation among violent extremist organizations by content coding yearly attacks (n = 3569) for indicators of malevolent innovation and performance. Exploratory factor analyses and revealed two constructs: cultural potency and unique proficiency explained most of the variance associated with these attacks over time. To understand early warnings of such increasing capabilities among terrorist organizations, these factors were correlated with other objective, non-factor attack-level variables (e.g., leadership, lethality, and collaboration). Our findings offer insight into contextual dynamics of terrorist attacks. We conclude with implications and directions for future research.

Authors

• Michael K Logan, University of Nebraska at Omaha

• Gina Scott Ligon, University of Nebraska Omaha