ABSTRACT
Why do terrorist organizations ally with other terrorist organizations? Are all connections created equal? To answer the first question, this paper looks to the literature on why terrorist organizations form alliances. To answer the latter question we argue that all connections are not created equal, but rather that there are three major types of terrorist network connections: ideological, business, and enemy of my enemy. The structure of each of these types of connections is observed throughout a global terrorist network of organizations built from data compiled in the Big Allied And Dangerous (BAAD) dataset. Finally a brief look at specific examples using egocentric networks of key groups is performed.
Keywords: Terrorism, Social Network Analysis, Alliance Structures
