Trends in Terrorists’ Weapons Adoption and the Study Thereof

Bibliographic Data

ID12693245
AuthorsNicole Tishler (Carleton University, corresponding author)
Year2017
Volume20
Issue3
Pages368-394
Publication date2017-07-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Studies Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1468-2486 • E-ISSN: 1521-9488
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1093/isr/vix038
OpenAlexW2737699429
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited11

In pursuit of universal models and readily observable indicators, existing accounts of terrorists’ weapons adoption have privileged environmental and group-based characteristics at the expense of appreciating the fundamental, albeit sometimes idiosyncratic, role played by individuals in the weapons innovation process. This article develops in three stages an individual-centric approach to examining terrorist groups’ weapons adoption in empirical and theoretical models: first, a critical review of existing terrorist weapons adoption and innovation literature, organized into three levels of analysis—the situational, the organizational, and the individual; second, a theoretical argument—drawing on organizational learning and knowledge transfer theory—that posits individual expertise as a crucial underlying factor in terrorists’ weapons adoption; and third, a stylized case study of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)’s weapons use trends as a demonstration of the argument’s practical utility in today’s security environment. The article concludes with insights for continued scholarly inquiry into terrorist groups’ weapons adoption

Argument (complex analysis · Economics · Law and economics · Political economy · Political science · Public relations · Situational ethics · Sociology · State (computer science · Stylized fact · Terrorism · Computer Science · Middle East and Rwanda Conflicts · Political Conflict and Governance · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence · Law

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