Skip to page content

Terrorist Organizations

Featured

Terrorist organizations have long threatened the security, infrastructure, and citizens of nations and communities throughout the world. Since the early 1970s, RAND has explored the structure and activities of terrorist organizations—most recently ISIS and its offshoots—to understand their motivations, their recruitment and training methods, and why some are more successful than others.

Report
How to Reduce Violent Nonstate Actors' Abilities to Adapt
Violent nonstate actors—terrorist groups, drug trafficking organizations, and others—pose durable and direct threats to U.S. security interests. Why are they so capable of adapting to changes in their environments, and how might the Army detect and mitigate such adaptations before they occur?
Jun 6, 2022
Report
Implications of the Pandemic for Terrorist Interest in Biological Weapons
Some policymakers and analysts have expressed concern that weaknesses in responses to the COVID-19 pandemic will motivate terrorists to seek biological weapons. While the prospect of the Islamic State and al-Qaeda pursuing biological weapons is not zero, it is unlikely, given the difficulties involved and the availability of simpler alternatives.
May 31, 2022

Explore Terrorist Organizations

Blog
Violence in Schools, Neurodiversity and National Security, Drug Cartels: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on preventing school violence, dealing with drug cartels, the benefits of a neurodivergent national security workforce, and more.
Mar 31, 2023
Commentary
Should Mexico's Drug Cartels Be Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations?
While the outcry over the kidnapping and murder of U.S. citizens by members of the Gulf Cartel in Mexico is understandable, stridency should not preclude strategic assessment. America's problem with drug trafficking is not the lack of statutes, but the magnitude of the problem.
Mar 22, 2023
Report
In the Wreckage of ISIS: An Examination of Challenges Confronting Detained and Displaced Populations in Northeastern Syria
The authors examine the humanitarian and security conditions in two Syrian camps for internally displaced persons: al-Hol and Roj. They address concerns about radicalization and highlight challenges in returning displaced residents to their homes.
Mar 9, 2023
Commentary
Appreciating U.S. Ground Force Contributions to Operation Inherent Resolve
Defeating ISIS hinged on a ground fight, requiring the grueling liberation of territory kilometer by kilometer. While Iraqi forces bore the brunt of frontline fighting, U.S. forces were also engaged in on-the-ground combat operations that hastened the defeat of ISIS. Appreciating such contributions will be necessary to distill the right lessons so that we might correctly apply them to future irregular warfare.
Jan 25, 2023
Report
Operation Inherent Resolve: U.S. Ground Force Contributions
This report, which outlines four battles within Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR) and reviews U.S. ground force contributions to those battles, is intended to address gaps both in analysis and in the common understanding of OIR.
Oct 17, 2022
Commentary
The Question of Succession in Al-Qaida
Two months after the death of al Qaida leader Aymin al-Zawahiri, experts continue to debate potential contenders for his replacement while waiting for al-Qaeda to make an announcement. A dark horse contender with long ties to Osama bin Laden could upend predictions and threaten to revive one of history's most lethal terrorist groups.
Sep 29, 2022
Multimedia
Book Discussion with National Security Correspondent Michael Gordon
The RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy hosted a book discussion featuring Michael Gordon, a national security correspondent for the Wall Street Journal. Gordon and a panel of Middle East experts discussed his new book, "Degrade and Destroy."
Sep 13, 2022
Commentary
After the al-Zawahiri Strike, the U.S. May Lack Capabilities in Afghanistan
The U.S. drone strike that killed al Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan took out one of the last remaining key figures behind the 9/11 terror attacks. But it also highlighted how little the United States got out of its 2020 bargain with the Taliban, and raised questions about the U.S. ability to adequately monitor the developing threat from this quarter going forward.
Aug 3, 2022
Essay
Civilian Casualties: Lessons from the Battle for Raqqa
The United States' emphasis on minimizing civilian harm in Raqqa, Syria, was quite clear and strong up and down the chain of command. But the way in which the U.S. military waged war in Raqqa too often undercut that commitment. The Pentagon asked RAND to find out what happened.
Jul 1, 2022
Report
Road to Damascus: The Russian Air Campaign in Syria, 2015 to 2018
The authors review the chronology of Russian air operations in Syria, and assess the strategic and operational blueprint, basing strategy and force disposition, effectiveness of the Russian air campaign, and its applicability to future campaigns.
May 11, 2022
News Release
Efforts to Avoid Civilian Casualties in Raqqa, Syria, in 2017 Were Considerable but Insufficient
U.S. strategic choices in the battle to liberate Raqqa, Syria, from ISIS in 2017 likely increased civilian harm despite considerable efforts to avoid civilian casualties by both U.S. and coalition forces.
Mar 31, 2022
Report
Efforts to Avoid Civilian Casualties in Raqqa Were Considerable but Insufficient
The 2017 battle to liberate Raqqa, Syria, from ISIS is a cautionary tale in 21st-century conflicts. U.S. strategic choices likely increased civilian harm despite considerable efforts to avoid civilian casualties by both U.S. and coalition forces. What lessons can be applied to future operations?
Mar 31, 2022
Blog
Terrorism Research: How RAND Defined and Built a New Field of Knowledge
In the early 1970s, amid a worldwide rash of bombings, hijackings, and hostage-takings, RAND researchers began creating the first international database of terrorist incidents. Maintained until 2009, it chronicles more than 40,000 terrorist attacks since 1968.
Mar 9, 2022
Journal Article
Scenarios of Transnational Islamist Terrorism. Trends and Developments: A Fact-Based Threat Assessment
Some scholars have speculated that the current religious wave of terrorism, epitomized by the global jihadist movement, might finally be starting to ebb. But the movement could very well roar back to life.
Feb 25, 2022
Journal Article
The Atomization of Political Violence
The conclusion that terrorism is likely to persist at low levels does not preclude large-scale attacks. The present tumultuous state of the world and growing domestic extremism could produce dramatic changes in the future trajectory of political violence.
Feb 25, 2022
Commentary
Complex Calculations Shape Pakistan-TTP Negotiations
Pakistan sees the Taliban as a facilitator of discussions with the TTP, as an ally in persuading the TTP to negotiate, and as a guarantor of whatever agreement is reached. And given the Taliban's diplomatic isolation and desperate economic situation, Pakistan can in return assist Afghanistan's new rulers in gaining acceptance and aid.
Dec 20, 2021
Commentary
Negotiating with TTP—A Different Perspective
America's withdrawal and the Taliban's swift return to power in Afghanistan could be a primary force in shaping the trajectory of the continuing armed struggle with Pakistan's Taliban. It may be time for Islamabad to consider whether to renew efforts aimed at reaching a political settlement.
Oct 27, 2021
Journal Article
Can a Pragmatic Relationship With the Taliban Help Russia Counter Terrorism?
Neither the United States nor Russia wants to see Afghanistan become a haven for international terrorist groups. For now, Russia is taking a pragmatic approach to the Taliban in that it has a relationship with the group that the United States does not.
Sep 8, 2021

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Next

RAND Topic:
Terrorist Organizations

Topic Synonyms:
Terrorist Cells;
Terrorists

Research conducted by