Walls and Strategic Innovation in Violent Conflict

Datos Bibliográficos

ID6284698
AutoresMatthew Nanes (0000-0002-7006-5040, Department of Political Science, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA, autor de correspondencia), Trevor Bachus (Department of Political Science, Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA)
Año2021
Volumen65
Número6
Páginas1131-1158
Fecha de publicación2021-07-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
EditorialSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0022002721994667
OpenAlexW3036767862
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas4
Referencias citadas30

Governments build walls to curtail a range of illicit activities like immigration, crime, and terrorism. We argue that while physical barriers effectively prevent specific unwanted behavior, they induce actors to respond strategically and develop new tactics, changing the nature of illicit activity and leading to new threats. We test this argument in the context of Israel’s security barrier. Using an instrumental variable unrelated to the underlying threat of attack, we analyze short-term changes in the barrier’s porousness. Terror attacks in Israel are less likely when the barrier is more secure. However, we also observe evidence of changing strategies. Attacks are most likely immediately after the government eases temporary restrictions on movement, suggesting that previously-planned attacks were delayed, not prevented. Furthermore, when the barrier is more secure, terrorists select weapons that are less affected by it and carry out attacks in systematically different locations. Ultimately, walls’ impacts on any challenge depend not just on how well they prevent movement but also on illicit actors’ strategic responses

Argument (complex analysis · Business · Computer security · Context (archaeology · Criminology · Economics · Government (linguistics · Political economy · Political science · Sociology · Terrorism · Computer Science · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence