Misperceiving the Terrorist Threat

Jeffrey D. Simon

ResearchPublished 1987

Although much attention has been focused recently on international terrorism, there has been little discussion about whether or not terrorism actually threatens vital U.S. interests. This report, a version of which originally appeared in the Summer 1987 issue of Foreign Policy, addresses the possibility that U.S. decisionmakers have misperceived the threat of terrorism, treating each incident as a "crisis" and trying to design high-level policies for what are essentially low-level threats. The author suggests that counterterrorist strategy regarding those incidents that can be absorbed by the United States with minimal or no damage to national security should be guided by a different set of responses than those appropriate for incidents that truly threaten vital interests.

Order a Print Copy

Format
Paperback
Page count
26 pages
List Price
$20.00
Buy link
Add to Cart

Topics

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Available
  • Year: 1987
  • Print Format: Paperback
  • Paperback Pages: 26
  • Paperback Price: $20.00
  • Paperback ISBN/EAN: 978-0-8330-0847-3
  • Document Number: R-3423-RC

Citation

RAND Style Manual
Simon, Jeffrey D., Misperceiving the Terrorist Threat, RAND Corporation, R-3423-RC, 1987. As of September 11, 2024: https://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R3423.html
Chicago Manual of Style
Simon, Jeffrey D., Misperceiving the Terrorist Threat. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1987. https://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R3423.html. Also available in print form.
BibTeX RIS

This publication is part of the RAND report series. The report series, a product of RAND from 1948 to 1993, represented the principal publication documenting and transmitting RAND's major research findings and final research.

This research in the public interest was supported by RAND using discretionary funds made possible by the generosity of RAND's donors, the fees earned on client-funded research, or independent research and development (IR&D) funds provided by the Department of Defense.

This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of this publication online is prohibited; linking directly to this product page is encouraged. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of its research documents for commercial purposes. For information on reprint and reuse permissions, please visit www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.

RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.