How Terrorism Ends - Revisiting Cronin in Light of Contemporary Realities

Abstract

This comment revisits Audrey Cronin’s How Terrorism Ends (2009), arguing for the need to reassess key aspects of her framework in light of significant developments since its publication. First, it highlights how the availability of new data and research (especially following the unprecedented rise and fall in global terrorist activity in the 2010s) offers a valuable opportunity to re-examine patterns of terrorist decline. Second, it explores how changes in the nature of terrorism, such as the rise of far-right extremism and lone-actor violence in Western countries, as well as the evolving role of digital technologies, point to the limitations of Cronin’s framework in today’s context. The findings warrant a broader and updated inquiry into how terrorism ends today.