Terrorist Leadership Decapitation: Pros and Cons. Presentation of the Book by Jenna Jordan

On March 3, 2020, at 15:00, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) hosted a presentation of the book Leadership Decapitation: Strategic Targeting of Terrorist Organizations by Jenna Jordan, Associate Professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech.

As a specialist on international security and political violence, Jenna Jordan evaluates the effectiveness of a strategy of eliminating a terrorist group's leader.

On March 3, 2020, at 15:00, Russian International Affairs Council (RIAC) hosted a presentation of the book Leadership Decapitation: Strategic Targeting of Terrorist Organizations by Jenna Jordan, Associate Professor in the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech.

As a specialist on international security and political violence, Jenna Jordan evaluates the effectiveness of a strategy of eliminating a terrorist group's leader.

One of the central pillars of US counterterrorism policy is that capturing or killing a terrorist group's leader is effective. Yet this pillar rests more on a foundation of faith than facts. In Leadership Decapitation, Jenna Jordan examines over a thousand instances of leadership targeting—involving groups such as Hamas, al Qaeda, Shining Path, and ISIS—to identify the successes, failures, and unintended consequences of this strategy.

Is this strategy effective, or are there more effective ones to combat international terrorism? What factors are decisive when choosing such a strategy? Do states need to continue to persecute leaders, or should they focus on other ways to combat international terrorism?

These and other issues was discussed at the presentation by Jenna Jordan.