ABSTRACT
Against the backdrop of recent dramatic events (such as “the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan; the […] pandemic on economic inequality, political polarization, and security issues; the recent rise in ideological extremism”) that could have profound effects on the future course of terrorism, Brian M. Jenkins explores “subtle trends or changes in the fashions of political violence.” He is convinced that changing circumstances are promoting a particular mode of low-level terrorism. According to Jenkins, we are currently witnessing an “atomization” of political violence, in which “individuals – not groups – motivated partly by ideology, partly by personal grievances, untethered or only loosely affiliated with an organization, are increasingly carrying out violent attacks on their own initiative, without central direction.” Along with this proposition go certain dynamics such as remote recruiting, more individual attackers, an increase in “primitive” tactics, and growing antisocial behavior. This entails many difficulties for counterterrorism, in particular preventive measures, as “autonomous actors, relying on primitive methods, are harder to identify and are especially hard to protect against.” Nevertheless, the author concludes, the atomization of violence can be regarded as “progress” of counterterrorism efforts, since it is driving terrorism down to the level of individual perpetrators.
