Military Review English Edition May-June 2016 | Page 132

with anticipating and countering terrorist activities
before they occur. Human factors in counterterrorism are still an
area largely under-researched,
and yet human factors
have immense
potential in
developing effective policies
and strategies
for combating
terrorism. Alex
Stedmon and
Glyn Lawson,
recognized researchers in the
field of human
factors and ergonomics, edit
a timely study that presents world-leading ideas and
research that explore the emerging domain of human
factors in counterterrorism.
Hostile Intent and Counter-Terrorism is broken into
six key themes: conceptualizing terrorism, deception and decision-making, social and cultural factors
in terrorism, modeling hostile intent, strategies for
counterterrorism, and future directions. Stedmon
and Lawson use empirical studies to challenge
widely held beliefs that terrorists are irrational and
that militant social networks form for carrying out
violent acts.
Among Stedmon and Lawson’s many significant
observations and reflections, four stand out. First, responsibility modeling for evaluating emergency preparedness is extremely beneficial for identifying and
managing vulnerabilities. Counterterrorism experts
can develop those models for prospective and retrospective analysis. Second, counterterrorism policies
must focus upon educating and reassuring the public
about the real risks of terrorism. Any approach that
chooses, instead, to emphasize the dangers associated
with terrorism is likely to have the counterproductive
effect of increasing fears. Third, a mixed-methods
approach that combines quantitative and qualitative
analysis of primary and secondary data to analyze
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changes in network relations and activities within terrorist groups is indispensable. This approach
allow researchers to identify changes in leadership
relations over time corresponding to major events
in a group’s development. Fourth, research of female
suicide bombers indicates that this growing and
dangerous phenomenon is not ideological or cultural
but is associated with the disintegration of traditional patriarchal societies. Disintegration results in the
weakening of traditional norms that would prevent
women from taking nontraditional roles including
suicide terrorism.
Stedmon and Lawson go beyond traditional works
of reporting research efforts to include a section that
looks to the potential future directions of hostile intent and coun