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Terrorism Risk Management

Report
Assessing Shifts in U.S. Department of Homeland Security Targeted Violence Prevention Efforts Through Early 2022
This report characterizes changes made in U.S. Department of Homeland Security efforts to prevent targeted violence, including the extent of change and how those changes responded to concerns about efforts to counter violent extremism.
Nov 30, 2023
Report
Identifying and Prioritizing Systemically Important Entities: Advancing Critical Infrastructure Security and Resilience
This report helps the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency codify the concept of systemically important critical infrastructure by documenting the work surrounding systemic risks and cyber risks in software supply chains.
Nov 20, 2023
Report
Terrorism Net Assessment
In this report, the authors offer a preliminary conception of how to determine the capabilities the United States needs to remain safe from international terrorism.
May 2, 2023
Report
Independent Review of the Homeland Security Grant Program Terrorism Risk Formula and Data
Researchers evaluated the Federal Emergency Management Agency's terrorism risk formula, which considers threat, vulnerability, and consequences of terrorist attacks for allocating resources to the Homeland Security Grant Program.
Apr 19, 2023
Report
The Bureaucratic Inertia of U.S. Afghanistan Policy
The U.S. policy goal of preventing Afghanistan from becoming a haven for terrorists remained constant for 20 years even as the dynamics of the war and the will of the policymaking community changed and there was no apparent hope of military victory. Why?
Feb 21, 2023
Commentary
The Intelligence Community Doesn't Warn About All Attacks Against the U.S. Homeland. Why Not?
Targets for foreign threats against the United States increasingly include entities that are not part of the U.S. government or military. But too many of these potential victims are unaware of threats against them, are not warned with intelligence reporting about such threats, and lack information about options to protect themselves.
Oct 21, 2022
Commentary
Harnessing the Power of Science and Technology Communities for Crisis Response
In this Perspective, RAND researchers describe how the U.S. Department of Homeland Security could leverage science and technology communities to support the use of science, technology, innovation, and analytical capabilities during crisis response.
Sep 19, 2022
Report
Implications of the Pandemic for Terrorist Interest in Biological Weapons
Some policymakers and analysts have expressed concern that weaknesses in responses to the COVID-19 pandemic will motivate terrorists to seek biological weapons. While the prospect of the Islamic State and al-Qaeda pursuing biological weapons is not zero, it is unlikely, given the difficulties involved and the availability of simpler alternatives.
May 31, 2022
Commentary
U.S. Policy Toward the Taliban: Engage, Isolate, or Oppose?
With the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and a growing humanitarian crisis, the United States faces several policy options. While isolation is the usual response to an unwelcome regime change, engagement offers the only prospect to advance U.S. interests in the country, mainly counterterrorism and humanitarian relief.
May 26, 2022
Commentary
Defining 'Terrorism' Is the First Step to Defeating It
Western policy- and decisionmakers continue to grapple with how to define acts of terrorism and when it is appropriate to bring terrorism charges. Establishing a consensus on the definition of terrorism and bringing to center stage the importance of adequately charging acts of terrorism could be more important than ever.
Nov 8, 2021
Commentary
Implications of Domestic Terrorist Group Designations for Combating Homegrown Extremism
It is not clear that an official designation of domestic extremists as terrorists would confer additional benefits that would outweigh potential risks to U.S. civil liberties. A combined government effort that facilitates mitigation strategies to preempt violence by hate groups, while also actively stemming the flow of online disinformation, may be a good first step in reducing homegrown extremism.
Mar 2, 2021
Multimedia
Domestic Terrorism in the U.S.: The Need to Rethink Strategy
An overview of testimony by Brian Michael Jenkins presented before the House Committee on Homeland Security on February 4, 2021.
Feb 10, 2021
Multimedia
How Do We Prevent the Next Homegrown Terrorist?
What is the right terrorism prevention strategy for the federal government? Brian Jackson discusses the nature of the homeland terrorist threat, past and current terrorism prevention policies, and gives recommendations for policymakers.
May 3, 2019
Commentary
A New Framework for Evaluating Counter Violent Extremism Projects
Gathering evidence in the area of counter violent extremism (CVE) is vital, given the increasing role for CVE interventions in the political and security environment. Evaluations of these interventions can play a role in growing this knowledge, by helping the CVE field itself to develop.
Feb 15, 2019
News Release
Terrorism Prevention Programs Need Strengthening If They Are to Be Effective
National capabilities for terrorism prevention, which refers to options other than traditional law-enforcement action to respond to the risk of individual radicalization to violence, are relatively limited. Most rely on local or non-government efforts, and only a subset receive federal support.
Feb 14, 2019
Research Brief
How to Strengthen Terrorism Prevention Efforts
Shortfalls in national terrorism prevention efforts have come not only from limited programmatic focus and resource investment, but also from critics seeking to constrain or halt such efforts. The most effective path for the U.S. government would be to support state, local, nongovernmental, and private terrorism prevention efforts rather than building capabilities itself.
Feb 14, 2019
Report
Practical Terrorism Prevention: Executive Summary
Researchers examined past U.S. countering violent extremism and terrorism prevention efforts and explored options to strengthen them. This document summarizes findings from the main report.
Feb 14, 2019
Report
Practical Terrorism Prevention
Current terrorism prevention capabilities are relatively limited. In law enforcement, government, and some community organizations, there is a perceived need for federal efforts to help strengthen local capacity. However, any federal efforts will need to focus on building community trust to be successful.
Feb 14, 2019
Journal Article
Adaptation by Intelligent Adversaries to Defensive Measures: Framing Adaptation Options and Demonstrating Assessment of Attacker Preferences Using Proxy Intelligence Data
Addressing adaptation by adversaries and its implications for security planning requires understanding the ways attackers can respond to new defensive measures. This paper demonstrates an analysis of such preferences using open source data.
Oct 2, 2018
Commentary
Terrorism Before and During the War on Terror: A Look at the Numbers
While terror-related headlines tend to imply the worst, the truth is much more prosaic. Terrorism since 9/11 is down—and dramatically so—in countries not suffering from civil wars and insurgencies.
Dec 12, 2017

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RAND Topic:
Terrorism Risk Management

Topic Synonyms:
Terrorism Risk Management Policy

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

D. Sean Barnett

Senior Engineer

Sean Barnett is a senior engineer at the RAND Corporation. He is a defense analyst, nuclear engineer, and attorney, with 30 years of experience leading research in the fields of national security, energy, and law. At RAND, most of his work has involved military operational assessments and…
Tom LaTourrette

Senior Physical Scientist

Tom LaTourrette is a senior physical scientist at the RAND Corporation. He has over 20 years of experience in a wide range of topics related to energy, infrastructure, and public safety policy. His research covers seabed mining and critical minerals supply chains; alternative transportation…

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