Lethal Combinations: Studying the Structure of Terrorist Networks

Why do terrorist organization ally with other terrorist organization? Are all connections created equal? To answer the first question, this paper looks to the literature on why terrorist organizations form alliances. To answer the latter question we argue that all connections are not created equal, but rather that there are three major types of terrorist network connections: ideological, business, and enemy of my enemy. The structure of each of these types of connections is observed throughout a global terrorist network of organization built from data compiled in the Big Allied and Dangerous (BAAD) dataset. Finally a brief look at specific examples using egocentric networks of key groups is performed.