ABSTRACT
It is interesting to reflect on how we portray and think about the terrorist. We tend to think of him, first and foremost, as a person responsible for an act of violence, planned or actual. When we think of him, he is already a terrorist who has planned or undertaken an attack. Sometimes, if journalistic interest or public curiosity is significant enough we might learn more about the terrorist's background and his ‘transformation’. Although it is usually overshadowed by the brutality of the event itself, the stages in the emergence of a terrorist are important elements in our attempts to develop a fuller understanding of the phenomenon of terrorism. Needless to say, such an understanding is critical to the effectiveness of the investigative process directed towards both the pre-emption and pursuit of the offender. Economic analysis that aims to provide operationally relevant advice to law enforcement and security agencies might be able to encompass the ‘evolution’ or ‘pre-history’ of the terrorist within its theoretical frameworks. One part of this pre-history is his preparation for the uncertainty that lies ahead.
