Terrorism Perpetrated By Individuals in the United States and Canada

16 Pages Posted: 9 May 2013 Last revised: 18 Dec 2017

See all articles by Peter J. Phillips

Peter J. Phillips

University of Southern Queensland - Faculty of Business

Date Written: December 18, 2014

Abstract

We analyse acts of terrorism perpetrated by individuals, including lone wolf terrorists, in the United States and Canada during the period 1970 to 2014. The concentration of responsibility for inflicted fatalities is measured using the Herfindahl-Hirschman index. The diversity of attack methods and weapons choice is measured using entropy. Risk preferences or profiles are inferred for terrorist groups and individual offenders. Finally, the relative capability of individual terrorists to inflict fatalities is assessed against the capability demonstrated by terrorist groups.

Keywords: Terrorism, Individuals, Terrorist Groups, Lone Wolf Terrorists, Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, Entropy, Risk Preference, Capability, Attack Methods, Weapons, Choice, Profiles

JEL Classification: D74, H56, K14, K42

Suggested Citation

Phillips, Peter J., Terrorism Perpetrated By Individuals in the United States and Canada (December 18, 2014). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2262106 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2262106

Peter J. Phillips (Contact Author)

University of Southern Queensland - Faculty of Business ( email )

Toowoomba 4350, Queensland
Australia

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