What Is The Consumer Choice Theory Model Of Terrorism

Since September 11, 2001, terrorism has become a renowned topic and concern to the United States and the rest of the world, which makes it highly interesting to discuss and review. Terrorism has been applied through a plethora of various frameworks such as sociology, psychology, crime, and religion (Schmid 2004). Additionally, the field of economics is another useful framework for analyzing the topic. Because economics is an academic subject that emphasizes decision making and problem solving with efficiency, it can be a functional tool for understanding terrorism.
A primary tool used in microeconomics for analyzing behavior is the “Consumer Choice Theory Model”. This model has been recently applied to terrorism by different scholars (Anderton

The first on the list is the definition and concept of terrorism itself. The term “terrorism” has failed to find a consensual definition in the academic world (Hoffman 2006). The absence of its official definition, is due to its continuous changing motives and nature (Hoffman 2006). Despite its conflicts, defining terrorism is important for understanding who the enemy is and what the enemy is capable of (Hoffman 2006). Furthermore, it is impossible to address terrorism without a definition. A definition of terrorism pin points the phenomenon and distinguishes its characteristics from other types of violence. The language that defines terrorism is utilized by people for their own perspective of who a terrorist is. An individual’s perception of a terrorist matters because one person’s freedom fighter could be another person’s terrorist (Hoffman 2006). Crenshaw (1995) argues “by defining and identifying a problem, labels may also indicate a preferred solution”. Keeping in mind the dynamics of terrorism and the importance of specifying the right enemy, neither a lenient or strict definition will suffice because a lenient definition fails to commonly identify terrorism and a strict definition fails to adapt with the terrorism’s ever changing nature and motives. To develop an adequate definition for terrorism, it starts with identifying the characteristics of the act and actors (Hoffman 2006). Knowing the value of the definition of terrorism, explains why the definition is important to establish before creating an economic model of the subject. For the purpose of the application and identifying who the enemy is and its capabilities, terrorism will be defined as the premeditated use or threat to use violence by individuals or subnational groups to obtain a political or social objective through the intimidation of a large audience