A Typology of Terrorist Attacks: The “32 Profiles” Model

Abstract

Typologies of terrorist attacks enable researchers to analyze the complex phenomenon of terrorism in an organized manner, while facilitating the formulation of effective counter-terrorism policies. This paper contributes to the literature on typologies of terrorism by proposing a new conceptual model which classifies the various terrorist attacks that take place around the world according to two axes of reference: (1) the extent to which a terrorist organization is involved in the attack, and (2) The nature of interaction of the attacker/s with others. By placing the properties of various attacks on both axes, this article presents a new methodology that creates a typology of 32 different profiles of terrorist attacks, which can be grouped into 15 prototypes. The proposed model facilitates the examination of different types of terrorist attacks, while opening up new avenues of research.