Are Terrorist Organizations Concerned About Collateral Damage?

By Ori Swed

Published 11/29/19 ┃Updated 01/04/20

The study of terrorist organization has been extensively discussing the effect of terrorist attack. The assumption is that terrorists pick their targets and calculate the outcome of their actions in order to maximize the impact of the attack. In this study we explore a new type of calculation in the terrorists’ plan, the collateral damage. Collateral damage refers to the death and injury of bystanders, people that are not related to the conflict. It is documented that collateral damage can lead to invert outcome, enraging people instead of cultivating support.