Terrorism, Security and the Power of Informal Networks

This innovative work examines the concept of the informal network and its practical utility within the context of counterterrorism. Drawing together a range of practitioner and academic expertise it explores the character and evolution of informal networks, addressing the complex relationship between kinship groups, transnational linkages and the role that globalization and new technologies play in their formation and sustainability. By analysing the informal branch of networked organization in the context of security policy-making, the chapters in this book seek to address three questions: â?¢ how do informal networks operate? â?¢ which combination of factors draws individuals to form such networks?â?¢ what are their structures? Informal networks are necessarily elusive owing to their ad hoc development, amorphous structures and cultural specificity but they are nonetheless pivotal to the way organizations conduct business. Identifying and manipulating such networks is central to effective policy-making. Terrorism, Security and the Power of Informal Networks argues that informal networks are important to policy-makers and their mastery is critical to success both in tackling the challenges of hostile networks and in the processes of organizational reform currently preoccupying governments. Practitioners, policy-makers and researchers in the fields of international politics, international relations, history and political science will find much to interest them in this timely resource.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Introduction Ann Lane PART I: INFORMAL NETWORKS 1. The Utility of Informal Networks to Policy-makers Alexander Evans 2. Terrorist Networks: Strengths and Weaknesses Peter Wilson PART II: REGIONAL NETWORKS 3. Northern Ireland: Communal Division and the Embedding of Paramilitary Networks Adrian Guelke 4. Informal Networks in North Africa George Joffé 5. Iran: Informal Networks and Leadership Politics Adam Goodman 6. How al-Qaeda Lost Iraq Andrew Phillips 7. Informal Networks in Southeast Asia: The Case of Jemaah Islamiah and its Affiliates David Martin Jones PART III: DISRUPTING INFORMAL NETWORKS 8. Modeling Proliferation Networks Bruno Gruselle 9. Small-world Networks, Violence and Global Distress Francesc Badia 10. Hearts and Minds: Time to Think Differently? Steve Tatham 11. Producing Terror: Organizational Dynamics of Survival Jessica Stern and Amit Modi Index

About the Author :
Edited by the late David Martin Jones, formerly Visiting Professor, Department of War Studies, King’s College London and Honorary Professor, Humanities Research Institute, University of Buckingham, UK, Ann Lane, Reader in International Politics, King’s College, London and Joint Services Command and Staff College, UK Defence Academy and Paul Schulte, Honorary Professor, Institute for Conflict, Cooperation and Security, School of Government and Society, University of Birmingham, UK