Al Qaeda as a Dune Organization: Toward a Typology of Islamic Terrorist Organizations

Al Qaeda and its affiliated groups offer the analyst a highly complex challenge. The current literature classifies Islamic terrorist organizations as either networked or hierarchical. Yet, this classification fails to account for the appearance on the international stage of a new type of global terrorism. Most notably, it does not capture the structure and mode of operation of Al Qaeda as it emerged after the 2001 U.S.-led assault on Afghanistan. This article therefore introduces a new conceptthe Dune organizationthat is distinct from other organizational modes of thinking. This conceptualization leads to a new typology of Islamic terrorist organizations. This typology concentrates on organizational behavior patterns and provides a framework for a comparative analysis of terrorist movements, which is applied to a study of Al Qaeda, Hizballah, Hamas, and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

[1]  Varvara Mitliaga,et al.  Networks and Netwars - The Future of Terror, Crime, and Militancy , 2002, Int. J. Law Inf. Technol..

[2]  C. Heatwole.  Which Way is Mecca , 1993 .

[3]  Zygmunt Bauman,et al.  Modernity and Ambivalence , 1990 .

[4]  Paul K. Davis,et al.  Deterrence and Influence in Counterterrorism: A Component in the War on Al Qaeda , 2002 .

[5]  R. Mayntz,et al.  Policy Networks: Empirical Evidence And Theoretical Considerations , 1991 .

[6]  Barry R. Posen,et al.  The Struggle against Terrorism: Grand Strategy, Strategy, and Tactics , 2001, International Security.

[7]  David Marsh,et al.  Understanding Policy Networks: Towards a Dialectical Approach , 2000 .

[8]  B. Hoffman,et al.  Al Qaeda, Trends in Terrorism, and Future Potentialities: An Assessment , 2003, Transnational Terrorism.

[9]  John Arquilla,et al.  Networks and Netwars: The Future of Terror, Crime and Militancy , 2001 .

[10]  Brian Michael Jenkins,et al.  Countering Al Qaeda: An Appreciation of the Situation and Suggestions for Strategy , 2002 .

[11]  D. Knoke.  Political Networks: Political Networks , 1990 .

[12]  Shaul Mishal,et al.  The Palestinian Hamas: Vision, Violence, and Coexistence , 2006 .

[13]  B. Latour.  We Have Never Been Modern , 1991 .

[14]  W. Riker.  Implications from the Disequilibrium of Majority Rule for the Study of Institutions , 1980 .

[15]  Organizations , 1992, Restoration & Management Notes.

[16]  P. Heymann.  Dealing with Terrorism: An Overview , 2001, International Security.

[17]  Sulaiman Abu Ghaith.  'Why We Fight America': Al-Qa'ida Spokesman Explains September 11 and Declares Intentions to Kill 4 Million Americans with Weapons of Mass Destruction , 2002 .

[18]  James N. Baron,et al.  The Impact of Economics on Contemporary Sociology , 1994 .

[19]  Albert-László Barabási,et al.  Linked: The New Science of Networks , 2002 .

[20]  D. Osborne,et al.  Reinventing government , 1993, Nature.

[21]  Mark Basile.  Going to the Source: Why Al Qaeda's Financial Network Is Likely to Withstand the Current War on Terrorist Financing , 2004 .

[22]  S. Cherry.  Linked: the new science of networks [Book Review] , 2002, IEEE Spectrum.

[23]  C. Mills,et al.  The Theory of Social and Economic Organization , 1948 .

[24]  D. Knoke,et al.  Political Networks: The Structural Perspective , 1992 .

[25]  Jonathan David Farley,et al.  Breaking Al Qaeda Cells: A Mathematical Analysis of Counterterrorism Operations (A Guide for Risk Assessment and Decision Making) , 2003 .

[26]  Richard L. Daft,et al.  Organization Theory and Design , 1983 .

[27]  James T. Currie,et al.  The United States House of Representatives , 1988 .

[28]  Osama bin Laden.  Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders , 1998 .

[29]  J. Stern,et al.  The Protean Enemy , 2003 .

[30]  D. Knoke.  Political Networks: Contents , 1990 .