Terrornomics

Book excerpt: Today, no single issue dominates the global political landscape as much as terrorism. Aware of their unique position in the newly unipolar world, terrorist leaders have articulated that economic warfare is a key component of the new terrorist agenda. Governments have accentuated the role of economic tools in their counter-terrorism policies while maintaining emphasis on the application of military force, or 'hard power', even though such tools often prove unnecessarily blunt or even sorely inadequate. Given the complexity of the global threat posed by modern transnational terrorist groups, combating terrorism with a mix of 'hard' and 'soft power' is more important than ever. As an invaluable new book in terrorism studies, Terrornomics brings together contributions from renowned international scholars and practitioners to provide a multifaceted view of contemporary financial counterterrorism and terrorist funding efforts. It employs key concepts, terms, case studies and policy recommendations to advance our understanding of the threats and possible courses of action, thus enabling us to grasp the critical financial and economic issues while providing potential counterterrorist strategies.