Summary

This article is Maarten Rothmans analysis of three strategies of political violence. The three strategies are terrorism, which works by way of fear; propaganda by deed, which works by way of inspiration; and provocation by violence, which combines elements of both. Rothman argues that terrorism specialists focus on the first to the detriment of the others. The other strategies have, however, been practiced in the past, and there is reason to believe that they provide a better way to understand the current wave of political violence, al-Qaeda and its affiliates, in particular. The question of motive,which enters the discussion at this point, may seem far removed from the practice of terrorist and counterterrorist strategies, but it has practical implications.The differences between the three strategies, and particularly between terrorism and the other two, affect terrorist target selection as well as counterterrorist strategies.Perpetrators variously identify a friendly or an enemy audience as crucial to the success of their campaign and conduct operations accordingly, while counter terrorists, aware of their opponents choice of audience, should also adapt.