'the work is written by two of the most prominent contemporary defense economists ... It thus offers a valuable account of the state of the art of political economy approaches to the study of this highly topical phenomenon ... this is a very sober, informative, and valuable contribution to the rapidly growing literature on terrorism as well as to peace and security economics.' www.epsjournal.org.uk
"Those seeking solid analysis instead of the unsupported assumptions, deliberately dire predictions, and partisan prescriptions that comprise much of the current discourse on terrorism will want to read Walter Enders and Todd Sandler's The Political Economy of Terrorism. For policy makers, it should be required fare. Reflecting more than a decade of quantitative research, the authors tackle a range of policy-relevant questions, concluding that terrorists are not mindless fanatics, but rationsal actors with a sound grasp of risks and returns, and that a number of the assumptions upon which our sometimes less-than traditional counter-terrorist policies are based cannot be supported with rigorous analysis." Brian Michael Jenkins, noted terrorism authority and the Senior Advisor to the President of the RAND Corporation
"The Political Economy of Terrorism is the first comprehensive treatment of terrorism that integrates game theory with a statistical analysis of data on terrorists behavior. Enders and Sandler have studied this problem for a number of years and provide a clear and insightful analysis of the challenges that we face in developing policies for addressing terrorism. This book should be of great interest to both researchers and policy makers in the United States and abroad." Geoffrey Heal, Columbia University and Howard Kunreuther, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
"This book is a masterful treatment of the modern scourge of terrorism using the tools of economics, political science, and other disciplines. It contains a wealth of information, both factual and analytical, about terrorism, and it uses a variety of analytical techniques to study the subject from the vantage point of both terrorists and those seeking to contain them, including the rational actor model, game theory, and statistical analysis. It should be of great value to researchers, policy makers, students, and others interested in this most important topic." Michael Intriligator, UCLA and the Milken Institute
"Enders and Sandler are perhaps the best social scientists doing systematic comparative study on terrorism. This is an essential statement of contemporary theory, evidence, and policy implications." Bruce Russett, Dean Acheson Professor of International Relations, Yale University
"Three cheers for Enders and Sandler whose new book fills a gaping hole in the literature on terrorism. Enders and Sandler have written what is, at least for now, the definitive book on the economic approach to understanding terrorism. Essential." Choice
"Th[is] book is a primer on some of the key national security issues on terrorism that are susceptible to economic analysis. it brings readers up to date on the history of terror, important findings in the social sciences about terror, and relevant policy issues. The book is a cogent brief for the economics perspective aimed at policy makers in the security field, and a good state-of-the-art document for economists who wish to move into this exciting research area." -- David Laitin, Journal of Economic Literature
"Enders and Sandlers book presensts a comprehensive and accessible coverage of theoretical models, data, empirical methods and results, institutions and history of terrorism. Other books tend to cover two or three of these areas, but all five are covered in The Political Economy of Terrorism, making the book the first of its kind in the social scientific study of terrorism." -Charles H. Anderton, International Review of Economics and Finance
"The Political Economy of Terrorism is a well-researched book that affirms the validity of new approaches to the study of terrorism....its findings should be read by policy-makers and others who will have to address the present and enduring threat of terrorism." Stephen Sloan, University of Central Florida and Temple University, Perspectives on Politics
