Q&A
Terrorism remains a threat to America, a reality that was underscored by the October attack on the USS Cole in the port of Aden in Yemen. International efforts to counter terrorism have at times been thwarted by a lack of understanding of the dynamics of terrorist groups.
Jessica Stern, a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Kennedy School and a faculty affiliate at the Belfer Center, is researching how terrorists organize and mobilize, and is examining how leadership theories can be applied to terrorist behavior.
Q: What do you hope to discover about terrorist leadership?
JS: I am hoping to learn about how leaders of terrorist organizations persuade young men to donate their lives to a cause, how they pull in supporters in the broader polity, and how they attract financial backers. Effective counter-terrorism policy design requires an understanding of how terrorist leaders mobilize their constituency.
Q: How does religion and/or ideology play into the ability of terrorists to carry out their goals?
JS: Most of the literature on terrorism assumes that terrorists turn to violence because they want to protect some key value. I have been interviewing religious militants and terrorists all over the world for the last few years. What I''m finding is that there is a continuum between the "true believers"--those who promote a key value like preparing for the Apocalypse without regard to its fund-raising appeal, and the more pragmatic leaders who have something in common with politicians. They are not necessarily averse to altering their ideology to maximize their appeal with the broadest constituency. For example, they may describe themselves as anti-Shi''a one day to appeal to Iraqi or Saudi funders, and anti-India the next, to appeal to the Pakistani diaspora.
Q: Can you draw any generalizations about the relationship between terrorist leaders and those they lead?
JS: Some of the leaders I''ve met are extremely charismatic. I have found myself feeling slightly mesmerized, even when these charismatic leaders espouse views I find abhorrent. I can readily imagine that young men from difficult backgrounds might feel hypnotized in the presence of these leaders, especially if the leaders have taken them into their homes, armed compounds, or schools. I have also been struck by the erudition of some leaders. Some are doctors or professors with strong views about the ethical basis of their cause. I have also found that some leaders don''t hold themselves to the high moral standards they expect their constituents to meet. Followers occasionally discuss their frustration about this with me.
Q: What are some of the other key factors in terrorists'' ability to mobilize?
JS: Marketing is very important. Many of the groups I follow have highly sophisticated Web sites, which they use to recruit operatives and supporters. They also use more traditional methods like posters and public speeches. The Pakistani group Lashkar-e-Taiba (Army of the Pure) raises funds on the Internet. These efforts have been so successful that the group, along with its parent organization, Markaz-e-Dawa wal Irshad (Center for Islamic Invitation and Guidance), is reportedly planning to open its own bank. Sometimes governments inadvertently assist terrorists with mobilization by over-reacting to terrorist crimes. Effective policy design in the area of counter-terrorism requires an understanding of how the wrong policy— bombing the wrong pharmaceutical plant for its purported production of nerve agents, for example— can facilitate rather than detract from terrorist leaders'' mobilization efforts.
(This interview was conducted by Miranda Daniloff of the Kennedy School''s News and Communications Office.)