Researching Terrorist Networks

Abstract While there has been a great deal of work on networks and their impact on governance, government and social movements, until the attacks against the United States in 2001 very few studies focused on what Raab and Milward call “Dark Networks” (2003). The attack on the United States illustrated how effectively tactical and strategic networks can exploit modern technology for violence. Since 2001, there has been a growing interest in the role that networks play in facilitating terrorist tactical and strategic behavior. Much of the network literature on terrorism has focused on the tactical importance of networks. Strategic terrorist networks (i.e., the relationships between and among terrorist organizations and the states that sponsor terrorism) are rarely, if ever, studied. In this paper, we give an overview of why terrorist networks are important, the major areas of investigation, and possible future areas of exploration.