Do Drone Strikes Degrade Al Qaeda? Evidence From Propaganda Output

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4086935
AutoresMegan L Smith (0000-0002-4545-7480, University of North Carolina at Charlotte), Megan Smith (0000-0003-1207-6048), James I Walsh (0000-0002-5833-1705, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, autor de correspondencia)
Año2013
Volumen25
Número2
Páginas311-327
Fecha de publicación2013-04-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaTerrorism and Political Violence (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0954-6553 • E-ISSN: 1556-1836
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09546553.2012.664011
OpenAlexW2049551017
IdiomaPT
Citas recibidas24

The United States has used unmanned, aerial vehicles—drones—to launch attacks on militants associated with Al Qaeda and other violent groups based in Pakistan. The goal is to degrade the target's capacity to undertake political and violent action. We assess the effectiveness of drone strikes in achieving this goal, measuring degradation as the capacity of Al Qaeda to generate and disseminate propaganda. Propaganda is a key output of many terrorist organizations and a long-standing priority for Al Qaeda. Unlike other potential measures of terrorist group activity and capacity, propaganda output can be observed and measured. If drone strikes have degraded Al Qaeda, their occurrence should be correlated with a reduction in the organization's propaganda output. The analysis presented here finds little evidence that this is the case. Drone strikes have not impaired Al Qaeda's ability to generate propaganda

Al qaeda · Criminology · Drone · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Terrorism · Defense, Military, and Policy Studies · Law · Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence