Terrorism, technology, and the socioeconomics of death

Abstract

Warfare, as an organized endeavor, is facing a paradigmatic shift. Throughout most of history, only states could effectively muster the capacity to kill an enemy in significant numbers. The weakness of the nation‐state and the increasing permeability of borders are reducing the effectiveness of the state and increasing the role of non‐state actors. Concurrently, the increasingly cheap availability of technical information and dual‐use material is making mass killing possible for small groups, or even for individuals. Biological weapons, with their easy accessibility, lack of effective international controls, and disproportionately large effectiveness, offer a singularly attractive mix to radical groups. Due to these changing circumstances, the use of biological weapons as a terror weapon should be seen as an inevitability. The United States must radically rethink how it hopes to deal with biological warfare initiated by terrorists and fringe groups, given the likely ineffectiveness of current policies.