ABSTRACT
Correct prediction of mutations in social behavior is unusual an event, because of unavoidable dependence of forecasts on relatively simple and humanly easily recognizable continuities from the past to the present and into the future. Therefore, the chances for correctly foreseeing the shape and implications of future unconventional terrorism are quite low, all the more so as the future facts of unconventional terrorism are connected to present realities by stochastic and perhaps random links, rather than deterministic patterns. Quite different predictions on the future of terrorism stem from alternative conceptions of the relations between terrorism and contemporary societal processes. The power structure of the world and its ideological and economic polarizations encourage terrorism, both directly in the form of providing support, up to state-instigated terrorism; and indirectly, by inhibiting effective global counter-terrorism action. Understanding of factors regarding the development of unconventional terrorism may provide a key for predicting its possible appearance, spread and intensification.
