Sharing the Dragon's Teeth

Terrorist Groups and the Exchange of New Technologies

Kim Cragin, Peter Chalk, Sara A. Daly, Brian A. Jackson

ResearchPublished Mar 15, 2007

Terrorist groups — both inside and outside the al Qaeda network — sometimes form mutually beneficial partnerships to exchange “best practices.” These exchanges provide terrorist groups with the opportunity to innovate (i.e., increase their skills and expand their reach). Understanding how terrorist groups exchange technology and knowledge, therefore, is essential to ongoing and future counterterrorism strategies. This study examines how 11 terrorist groups in three areas (Mindanao, the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and southwest Colombia) have attempted to exchange technologies and knowledge in an effort to reveal some of their vulnerabilities. The analysis provides the Department of Homeland Security and other national security policymakers with insight into the innovation process and suggests ways that government policies can create barriers to terrorists’ adoption of new technologies.

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Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 2007
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 136
  • Paperback Price: $20.00
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-0-8330-3915-6
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.7249/MG485
  • Document Number: MG-485-DHS

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Cragin, Kim, Peter Chalk, Sara A. Daly, and Brian A. Jackson, Sharing the Dragon's Teeth: Terrorist Groups and the Exchange of New Technologies, RAND Corporation, MG-485-DHS, 2007. As of September 13, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG485.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Cragin, Kim, Peter Chalk, Sara A. Daly, and Brian A. Jackson, Sharing the Dragon's Teeth: Terrorist Groups and the Exchange of New Technologies. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2007. https://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/MG485.html. Also available in print form.
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This research was sponsored by the United States Department of Homeland Security and was conducted under the auspices of the Homeland Security Program within RAND Infrastructure, Safety, and Environment.

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