Typology of Terrorist Profiling Using Centrality Metrics: Hinge Figures, Influential Operatives and Trusted Assets

Abstract

ABSTRACT The increase in terrorist activity worldwide has prompted the development of research tools and methodologies to study the phenomenon of terrorism. Among them, social network analysis (SNA) has found its way into the security studies discipline, which, despite its still timid presence, has increasingly been proven to be a useful tool for detecting underlying structures and key actors. This article seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on the uses of SNA in the study of covert networks by testing the usefulness of metrics such as betweenness, closeness, and eigenvector centrality in identifying terrorist roles and functions in the cells that were behind the major terrorist attacks orchestrated by the Islamic State’s external operations apparatus. The study ends with the proposal of a new typology of terrorist profiling according to the results obtained from centrality measures: hinge figures, influential operatives and trusted assets.