Who Benefits from Terrorism? The Common Interests of Terrorists and Governments of Terrorized Societies

Abstract

This paper takes a hard look at the beneficiaries of terrorism worldwide and departs from academic questions of whether terrorism is successful from the vantage of terrorists. Rather it analyzes the growth of antiterrorism bureaucracies, homeland security budgets, and the deference given to antiterrorism agencies in the immediate aftermath of major terrorist events. It concludes that the primary beneficiaries of terrorism are the world’s governmental security bureaucracies, which benefit from their increased jurisdiction over domestic affairs in the wake of terrorist incidents. Thus, even if their substantive objectives differ greatly, terrorists and governments of terrorized populations share something of a common agenda.

Keywords: terrorism, false flag, conspiracy, government spending, 9/11 truth

JEL Classification: H56