In Global Alert , Boaz Ganor addresses the fundamental dilemmas that confront the liberal democratic state in combating contemporary terrorist groups. Asymmetric warfare implies an unequal contest, with the state clearly having a material advantage over its terrorist adversaries, but rules based upon international law, democratic norms, ethics, values, and even how domestic and foreign audiences might perceive events, all constrain the state's application of power. Ganor makes the point that terrorism is not mindless violence, although earlier generations of terrorists seldom thought beyond the barrels of their guns. At best, they were tacticians, not strategists. While bloody-minded thugs and suicidal fanatics still fill the ranks, today's terrorist leaders think strategically. They have benefitted from decades of experience, observing their predecessors, enabling them to create new kinds of organizations and formulate strategies that exploit the disadvantages of the democratic state.Intellectually, states have not kept up. Official counter-terrorist doctrines are mired in old debates about the need to remove root causes, win hearts and minds, or shed self-imposed constraints and become more ruthless.
Radical rethinking is in order. Global Aler t starts us in a new direction.