ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author argues that the public in western democracies are more fearful of terrorism now than in previous generations, government efforts to counter terrorism would benefit from attempting to alleviate this fear. Perhaps the most important and consistent goal of terrorism worldwide is to inflict psychological harm upon a public audience. Moreover, the author suggests that counter-terrorism policies that focus upon communicating the dangers associated with terrorism are likely to have the counter-productive effect of increasing levels of fear. Terrorism is an extremely rare event and the number of casualties associated with terrorist violence is also very small. At the heart of the act of terrorism is the use of violence. Terrorism as psychological warfare that preys upon the fears and attitudes of individual members of the public provides the pivot point around which most political models of terrorism operate.
