Description
Book SynopsisBryan C. Price offers a data-driven examination of leadership decapitation tactics in counterterrorism. Analyzing hundreds of cases of leadership turnover from over two hundred terrorist groups, Price demonstrates that the loss of top leaders significantly reduces terror groups’ life spans.
Trade ReviewFrom one of the country's leading experts on terrorism,
Targeting Top Terrorists breaks important new ground in our understanding of terrorist groups, the importance of their leaders, and the implications of removing those leaders from the battlefield. It is rare that a book speaks to academics, policy makers, and war fighters, but Price's book does just that. -- Michael Morell, former acting director and deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency and host of the
Intelligence Matters podcast
Targeting Top Terrorists analyzes the impact of leadership decapitation from both empirical and quantitative perspectives, and Price’s research presents new findings that make a significant and original contribution to the current literature. This book is a must-read for both scholars and policy makers. -- Boaz Ganor, dean of the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy, and Strategy, Interdisciplinary Center, Herzliya
Is leadership decapitation an effective tool in contending with the persistent threat posed by terrorist groups? In
Targeting Top Terrorists, Bryan Price tackles this critical question with theoretical rigor, methodological sophistication, and empirical depth to produce an incisive and nuanced study that scholars and practitioners of counterterrorism cannot afford to ignore. -- Assaf Moghadam, author of
Nexus of Global Jihad: Understanding Cooperation Among Terrorist ActorsOne of the most rigorous studies to date. -- Jonathan Stevenson * New York Review of Books *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. Organizations and Leaders
3. Leadership in Terrorist Organizations
4. Quantitative Analysis of Leadership Decapitation in Terrorist Groups
5. The Effects of Leadership Decapitation on Hamas
6. Conclusion: Policy Implications and Future Research
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index
