How Terrorism Ends: Understanding the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Campaigns

by Audrey Kurth Cronin

populist” by increasing their appeal and widening their reach to potential constituencies, they are likewise increasingly subject to the changing whims of their putative constituencies. States may not now be able to pressure other states to end support for groups through the usual diplomatic or military channels, or to control media or borders or resource flows as effectively or as easily as they might have done in the past; but they can certainly produce counteracting messages, appealing to targeted constituencies and gathering intelligence through the sophisticated use of the Internet. Every link, however brief, between an individual and a group is both a conduit for violence and a window into the organization’s structure and operations. Groups can cause a lot of damage even in the absence of widespread support, but they are unlikely to perpetuate political change or attract the resources necessary to be most effective.