Study: Conciliatory Tactics More Effective Than Punishment in Reducing Terrorism

Policies that reward abstinence from terrorism are more successful in reducing such acts of violence than tactics that aim to punish terrorists, suggests a new study in the August issue of the American Sociological Review.

Titled, “Moving Beyond Deterrence: The Effectiveness of Raising the Expected Utility of Abstaining from Terrorism in Israel,” the study looked specifically at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and found that between 1987 and 2004, Israeli policies and actions that encouraged and rewarded refrain from terrorist acts were more successful in reducing terrorism than policies focused on punishment.

“Our argument begins to challenge the very common view that to combat terrorism, you have to meet violence with violence,” said Erica Chenoweth, study co-author and Assistant Professor at the Josef Korbel School of International studies at the University of Denver.

The study is the first to empirically evaluate the potential of conciliatory tactics in reducing terrorism. It relies on data from the Center for the Study of Terrorism and Response to Terrorism’s (START) Global Terrorism Database (GTD) and from the Government Actions in a Terrorist Environment-Israel (GATE-Israel) dataset. The GTD records global terrorist attacks, including Palestinian terrorist acts, while the GATE-Israel dataset, which the study authors developed, identifies counterterrorism strategies that Israel used against Palestinian targets and places them on a seven point scale from violent acts resulting in death to conciliatory acts involving peaceful gestures.

Examples of Israel’s conciliatory tactics that rewarded refrain from terrorist acts included: providing social services to potential terrorist constituencies, encouraging peace talks, withdrawing troops, releasing prisoners, and promoting cultural freedoms.

Israel’s repressive and punishment centered attempts to reduce terrorism included: passage of anti-terrorism laws, extension of prison sentences, assassination, deportation, and military retaliation.

The study found these repressive and punishment based methods to be less effective in reducing terrorism. Yet, in an average month between 1987 and 2004, Israel took approximately 18 repressive or punishment based actions against Palestinian targets and less than eight conciliatory actions.

Chenoweth and her co-author Laura Dugan, an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of Maryland, said they hope their findings encourage policymakers to give more consideration to conciliatory actions.

“The general consensus across the political spectrum is that when there is terrorism you have to fight back,” Dugan said. “This study suggests that there is value in looking at the grievances, the people most affected by these grievances, and the constituencies of these terrorist organizations.”

According to the study’s authors, when policymakers focused on improving the living conditions for Palestinian constituents, those same constituents were encouraged not to participate in terrorist organizations and, consequently, terrorism rates fell.

“If the constituency of a terrorist organization no longer supports that organization, then the organization can’t thrive,” Dugan said.

In addition, Dugan and Chenoweth argue that terrorists do not commit terrorist acts for the same reasons that common criminals commit crimes. Therefore, they believe counterterrorism tactics should not mirror typical crime fighting approaches.

“Strategies that successfully deter common criminals may be ineffective for terrorists,” Chenoweth said. “This is because terrorists are generally less concerned about being punished and more concerned about their role in ensuring the well-being of their movement and its constituency.”

While Dugan and Chenoweth found conciliatory policies to be more successful than repressive and punishment centered actions in reducing incidents of terrorism, the study authors are not completely opposed to the use of repressive and punishment based strategies.

“We do not recommend that governments adopt purely conciliatory policies,” Dugan said. “Our hope is that this research provides alternatives to solely focusing policy efforts on reducing the expected utility of bad behavior by also considering the value of raising the expected utility of good behavior.”

Featured

  • NRF Supports Federal Bill to Thwart Retail Crime

    The National Retail Federation recently announced its support for the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act of 2025. The act was introduced by Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Representative Dave Joyce, R-Ohio. Read Now

  • ISC West 2025 Brings Almost 29,000 Industry Professionals to Las Vegas

    ISC West 2025, organized by RX and in collaboration with the Security Industry Association, concluded at the Venetian Expo in Las Vegas last week. The nation’s leading comprehensive and converged security event attracted nearly 29,000 industry professionals and left a lasting impression on the global security community. Over five action-packed days, ISC West welcomed more than 19,000 attendees and featured 750 exhibiting brands. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West
  • Tradeshow Work Can Be Fun

    While at ISC West last week, I ran into numerous friends and associates all of which was a pleasant experience. The first question always seemed to be, “How many does this make for you?” Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West
  • New Report Says 1 in 5 SMBs Would Be Forced to Shutter After Successful Cyberattack

    Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) play a crucial role in the U.S. economy, making up 99.9% of all businesses and contributing to half of the nation's GDP. However, these vital economic growth drivers face an escalating threat—cyberattacks that could put them out of business. Read Now

  • The Yellow Brick Road

    The road to and throughout Wednesday's and Thursday's ISC West was crowded but it was amazing. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • ISC West

New Products

  • HD2055 Modular Barricade

    Delta Scientific’s electric HD2055 modular shallow foundation barricade is tested to ASTM M50/P1 with negative penetration from the vehicle upon impact. With a shallow foundation of only 24 inches, the HD2055 can be installed without worrying about buried power lines and other below grade obstructions. The modular make-up of the barrier also allows you to cover wider roadways by adding additional modules to the system. The HD2055 boasts an Emergency Fast Operation of 1.5 seconds giving the guard ample time to deploy under a high threat situation.

  • ComNet CNGE6FX2TX4PoE

    The ComNet cost-efficient CNGE6FX2TX4PoE is a six-port switch that offers four Gbps TX ports that support the IEEE802.3at standard and provide up to 30 watts of PoE to PDs. It also has a dedicated FX/TX combination port as well as a single FX SFP to act as an additional port or an uplink port, giving the user additional options in managing network traffic. The CNGE6FX2TX4PoE is designed for use in unconditioned environments and typically used in perimeter surveillance.

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area.