Media and terrorist choice: a risk-reward analysis

Article


Pohl, Gabriela. 2015. "Media and terrorist choice: a risk-reward analysis." Journal of Applied Security Research. 10 (1), pp. 60-76. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361610.2015.972271
Article Title

Media and terrorist choice: a risk-reward analysis

ERA Journal ID20487
Article CategoryArticle
Authors
AuthorPohl, Gabriela
Journal TitleJournal of Applied Security Research
Journal Citation10 (1), pp. 60-76
Number of Pages17
Year2015
PublisherTaylor & Francis
Place of PublicationPhiladelphia, PA. United States
ISSN1936-1610
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/19361610.2015.972271
Abstract

This article presents an economic analysis of terrorist choice in a context where media coverage is the desired payoff. Terrorist groups are depicted as maximizing an expected utility function with two relevant parameters: risk (variance of payoffs) and reward (average payoff). The theoretical framework deployed in this article permits the relative 'efficiency' of different terrorist groups to be
assessed. Using data for the period 1970 to 1980 in the Federal Republic of Germany, each active terrorist group's allocation of resources to different attack methods is assessed against an 'efficient' or optimal trade-off between risk and reward. Among the several findings that emerge is the relative efficiency of the Red Army Faction (RAF); a group known to be particularly media 'savvy.' The RAF's resource allocations across the period under consideration would, given the structure of media coverage accorded to different attacks carried out by all groups, generate an almost optimum expected payoff at the group's chosen level of risk. In addition to these micro-level findings, the analysis presented in this article shows a clearer picture of the decision-making process of terrorist groups in a context where those groups attempt to maximize media coverage for their actions.

Keywordsterrorism; economic analysis; media coverage; opportunity set; attack method combinations; terrorist groups' relative efficiencies; Federal Republic of Germany; Red Army Faction (RAF); mean-variance analysis
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020440804. Defence studies
380199. Applied economics not elsewhere classified
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Byline AffiliationsSchool of Arts and Communication
Institution of OriginUniversity of Southern Queensland
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