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This paper presents a theoretical framework on strategic innovation in terrorist organizations. By comparing three historical organizations (ETA, PIRA, and Red Brigades), it seeks to understand the rationale and dynamics of strategic innovation. In doing so, it delineates this phenomenon as a process articulated in four stages: Evaluation, Formulation, Adoption, and Implementation. While the first two stages involve different actors, leadership is crucial during the stages of Adoption and Implementation. Additionally, the framework discusses how innovation is not necessarily related to escalations in violence and highlights an important difference between strategic change and strategic innovation. Finally, the paper explores the role of culture to then suggest areas for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Previous studies found that informal leadership emerges in leaderless resistance movements. However, its boundaries – i.e. the conditions in which leaders can be successful – remain obscure. This paper develops a theoretical framework to then apply it to the Informal Anarchist Federation. The findings suggest that leaders are more likely to succeed when conforming to the movement’s core values. Moreover, informal leadership is context-dependent, temporary, and spontaneous, but also ubiquitous since any militant can be a leader and followers play a crucial role in co-creating the enactment of leadership. The paper argues that understanding the leadership’s boundaries is crucial for counterterrorism purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Fourth Industrial Revolution promises to transform contemporary societies. Similarly, emerging technologies are affording countless new applications that assure an overall and widespread improvement of living standards. At the same time, their potential misuse has sparked concerns. In particular, the possibility of terrorist organizations adopting such technologies has dominated the scholarly debate. Consequently, there is a growing literature that deals with the motivational and technical factors potentially underlying the malevolent resort to emerging technologies. Enthusiasm for emerging technologies is, however, only one side of the coin. The last decade has, indeed, witnessed a re-emergence of forms of Neo-Luddism. Nevertheless, a thorough understanding of these developments is still lacking. This paper investigates and maps the main debates and dynamics in the Anti-Technology Movement in order to understand the rationale behind—and the prospects of—this resurgence. In doing so, it focuses on two radical fringes, namely the Insurrectionary Anarchist Milieu and the Radical Environmentalist Milieu. The paper argues that, although based on different narratives and end goals, these milieus share a similar commitment and operational approaches as well as a marked apocalyptic millenarian thinking that has set them on an escalatory path. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While many scholars acknowledge terrorist innovation as a crucial issue, it still remains a rather under-researched phenomenon. This paper intends to map the field in order to propose an original conceptualization of terrorist innovation. In doing so, it draws on the Terrorism Studies, Strategic Studies, and Business Studies literatures to propose a definition of terrorist innovation, while also distinguishing between the categories of tactical, operational, and strategic innovation. Additionally, enriched with empirical observations, the paper explores potential drivers of the innovation process. Finally, it provides a set of suggestions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]