Geographical Approaches in the Study of Terrorism

Abstract

With the rise of quantitative approaches to studying terrorism, which has largely occurred in the post-9/11 period, scholarship on the cross-national study of terrorism has begun to incorporate high-resolution geographic information. A rise in both method and application of geographic tools has led to new research approaches, which are still not fully exploited. Indeed, substantial scope for opening new research frontiers now exists. We describe the use of geographic tools—both their strengths and weaknesses—and some ideas about the future of their use in the study of political violence and terrorism.