Citation

Walton CD. Comp. Strat. 2007; 26(1): 21-37.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/01495930701271502

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

While today's global war on terrorism is focused on Islamist organizations, in coming decades we should expect the vast proliferation of terrorist groups with an enormous variety of ideologies and goals. The pressures created by rapid technological, social, and other change will create fertile conditions for the growth of new radical movements. Whether (and, if so, how) the great powers choose to use terrorists against each other will be one of the major factors shaping the international security environment in this century. If even one of the great powers chooses to be reckless in its use of terrorist proxies against its peers, this could lead to catastrophic terrorist attacks and significantly increased prospects for great power war.