[Discussion] The Geographical Dimensions of Terrorism

[sule tarakcioglu]

*Susan L. Cutter, Douglas B. Richardson, and Thomas J. Wilbanks, eds.*
/The Geographical Dimensions of Terrorism//. /New York and London:
Routledge, 2003. xxii + 274 pp. Figures, tables, boxes, bibliography,
index. $85.00 (cloth), ISBN 0-515-94641-7; $24.95 (paper), ISBN
0-415-94642-5.

Reviewed by *Stephane Lefebvre*, formerly with the Department of
National Defence, Canada.
Published by H-Diplo <http://www.h-net.msu.edu/%7Ediplo> (April, 2004)


*Another Toolbox for the Terrorism Expert*

Of all the books published since the terrorist attacks on the United
States concerning September 11, 2001, a great many have looked at Al
Qaida and affiliated groups, the root causes of Islamic terrorism, and
the government response to prevent future terrorist attacks or manage
their consequences should they occur. Very few have studied the tools
and methods that would allow for a better tracking of the phenomenon and
improved consequence management measures. This edited book represents
such an effort.

As its title indicates, The Geographical Dimensions of Terrorism is the
work of a group of geographers affiliated to academia, the private
sector, or government. Their primary objective is to convince the reader
of the utility of geographic information science (GIScience) tools to
social scientists, law enforcement officers, public officials, and other
practitioners confronted with the prevention of and response to
terrorist acts. The book is divided into eight chapters, with each of
the first seven looking at a different aspect of the terrorism problem
and the last one offering a research and action agenda. Each author
essentially makes two arguments: detailed geographical information is
essential to anyone involved in addressing terrorist-related issues; and
GIScience applications are of use to almost all disciplines, thus
demonstrating the interdisciplinary approach necessary to deal
effectively with terrorism-related problems.

In his introduction to the book, Philip Rubin explains the genesis of
the authors' collective effort and their devotion to the task of
devising a geographic research agenda that would assist in the
construction of a "safer but open society" (p. xxi). Geography, in this
context, is a means, not an end, as the authors of the first chapter
aptly argue. They note that terrorism is largely a new but pressing
challenge to geographers, one that will require innovation and
imagination on their part. They admit, however, that the task is
perilous and may divide their epistemic community, for instance because
of distrusted policy agendas, and advocate a longer-term approach rather
than a shorter one.

The authors of the second chapter are concerned about how society
responds to and copes with hazards (natural, technological, or
human-induced), how vulnerabilities are identified, and how and why they
differ from one location to another. In her section, Deborah S. K.
Thomas makes the point that there are commonalities among the geographic
approaches in law enforcement, public health, and hazard management
(arguing that they ask the same set of geographic questions, and all use
maps and geographic information systems) and that they could be used for
monitoring terrorist activities (for example bioterrorism in the public
health sector). Consistent terminology and integrative approaches beyond
crisis management purposes, however, will need to be developed, as well
as mechanisms to deal with privacy issues and security classifications.
In his section, James K. Mitchell looks at urban vulnerability to
terrorism as hazard and argues that risk and vulnerability "must be
addressed together in a comprehensive way from the outset" (p. 18). He
particularly identifies the values-vulnerability nexus ("places and the
people who construct them have different meanings and are valued
differently by humans" [p. 20]) as an area of research deserving of
greater attention, and urges that more research be devoted to
investigating the full range of urban vulnerabilities. In his section on
emergency preparedness and response, Gerald E. Galloway discusses the
necessity for first responders to have access to near-current data on
the location and status of critical infrastructure, and geographic
information systems and supporting technologies, as well as the ability
to update and manipulate the information in these systems. He adds that
that the different communities of emergency managers must cooperate and
be coordinated to avoid further casualties and have systems that can
communicate and share data with one another. Drawing on the experience
of September 11, he recommends that geographic information technologies
be better integrated in the emergency response cycle. In this chapter's
last section, Richard Wright, Paul Ganster, and David Dow address the
issue of transborder disaster management as another area where GIScience
plays a very important role. To be effective when dealing with this
problem, emergency officials must be able to coordinate their efforts
and share current geographic data (it must therefore be harmonized) with
their counterparts from the other country.

The third chapter is focused on the root causes of terrorism and also
divided into four sections. Alexander B. Murphy looks at the space of
terror (activity, policy spaces, and perceptual spaces, or how different
spaces are understood) and how geography can help explain how spatial
arrangements and understandings impact on terrorists, their activities,
and motivations. Colin Flint looks at the geographies of
inclusion/exclusion and makes the case that we can no longer confine
terrorists within sovereign territories and that non-territorial
security threats must therefore be addressed differently than those from
nation-states. Kent Mathewson and Michael Steinberg are interested by
the links between drug production, commerce, and terrorism to show that
globalization processes cannot be dissociated from our understanding of
the wars on drugs and terrorism, and how GIScience can help us better
understand what is happening globally. Finally, Marilyn Silberfein looks
at insurrections, their causal factors (including ethnic diversity,
politics of exclusion, and environmental degradation) and locational
requirements, and the insights that GIScience could provide to such
dynamics.

Chapter 4 discusses geospatial data and technologies in times of crises
and the different ways through which they can assist emergency
management and homeland security requirements. The first section, by
Mike Tait, shows that there is a need for a national spatial data
infrastructure and interoperability standards among systems. This
infrastructure must be secure, real time or near real time, and be
accessible directly by users. The second section, by Andrew J.
Bruzewicz, is about the use of remote sensing imagery for emergency
management. He recognizes that such imagery has yet to be used to its
full potential, but notes that there are impediments to doing so (such
as the lack of knowledge about the usefulness of such a tool, weather
conditions, organizational issues, etc.). The third section, by Michael
F. Goodchild, is on improving access to geospatial data in emergencies.
He looks at issues such as finding the data, interoperability, and data
inaccuracy, and welcomes efforts by organizations such as the Federal
Geographic Data Committee and the Open GIS Consortium to improve
"interoperability through common specifications and standards" (p. 104).
Goodchild moves on to a discussion on the significance of data modeling
for emergencies in the fourth section. In the fifth section, Mei-Po Kwan
looks at the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to "facilitate
quick emergency response to terrorist attacks on multi-level structures
in urban areas" (p. 111). Finally, in their section Frederick Abler and
Douglas B. Richardson look at geographic management systems for homeland
security, concluding that "continued research and development are
necessary in order to rapidly implement an intelligent geospatial
information infrastructure capable of supporting the decentralized,
secure, and integrated management of the geographic information for
homeland security" (p. 124).

The fifth chapter is dedicated to the vulnerability of lifelines, the
built environment, and people. In turn, John A. Kelmelis and Scott A.
Loomer focus on the critical infrastructure, Thomas J. Wilbanks on
energy systems and infrastructures, Harvey J. Miller on transportation
and communication lifelines disruption, Geoffrey J. D. Hewings and
Yasuhide Okuyama on the economic assessment of unexpected events, Jerome
E. Dobson on estimating population at risk, and Ray J. Dezzani and T. R.
Lakshmanan on recreating secure spaces. All argue how important it is
for society to understand its vulnerabilities and to develop new
methods, models, and tools to assist in this endeavor.

Chapter 6, on bioterrorism, features the writing of Arthur Getis on
understanding biological warfare, Lisa M. Butler Harrington on
bioweaponry and agroterrorism, and Marilyn O. Ruiz on the spatial
surveillance of and response to biological threats. They show that
bioterrorism cannot be dissociated from its geographic expression, and
that geographic research in medicine, epidemiology, ecology, and
agriculture can help in mapping the bioterrorist problem and mitigating
its impacts. While bioterrorism has generally not been a high priority
among geographers, the authors argue that "there are significant
potentials for contribution now that the challenge has become salient"
(p. 179).

The authors of chapter 7, Harlan Onsrud and William B. Wood, are
concerned with issues of privacy and security. Onsrud expresses concerns
that the large amount of digital geographic information on government
websites may eventually be restricted to prevent terrorists from using
it for planning terrorist attacks. He argues, however, that far less
information, and of a much lower quality, is generally sufficient for
the planning of a terrorist attack, and that in any event "the benefits
from having more readily available governmental data far outweigh the
drawbacks" (p. 211). Wood, for his part, makes the point that homeland
security would be much improved through the development of
information-based security efforts which he terms "GeoSecurity" (p.
213). Ultimately, GeoSecurity would allow homeland security officials to
"assess and visualize societal vulnerabilities against diferent types of
threats and likely responses using a suite of geographic methodologies,
organization and analysis of georeferenced data" (p. 213).

The last chapter, by Cutter, Richardson, and Wilbanks, sums up the
research suggestions from all the authors and puts forward an action
agenda for geographers. It proposes priority action items and priority
research issues with respect to the root causes of terrorism,
vulnerability science and hazards research, and geospatial data and
technologies research. All lead to the development of an interested
community of GIScientists who would bring together their talent and
resources to tackle the terrorist problem alongside specialists from
other disciplines, all levels of government, and the private sector.

To the non-specialist, this book by geographers is highly accessible. It
is easy to read and carefully avoids jargon. The arguments in favor of
using GIS are well laid out and reinforced throughout the book. While
there are some illustrations and tables to assist the reader in
comprehending the issue at hand, it would have been useful also to
include color pictures of GIS displays so as to see how knowledge on
terrorism could be derived from displayed and manipulated geographic
information. The inclusion of a GIS presentation or demo on a CD-ROM,
for that matter, would have been perfect. The book is well edited and
referenced. A reference to Monmonier, 2002, on page 3, however, cannot
be found in the references section (one assumes that the date should
instead have read 2003, for which there is an entry on Monmonier).

To the political scientist, the historian, or the public official
interested in terrorism, there is much to gain by reading this book. It
clearly shows that interdisciplinary approaches are highly beneficial,
especially with regards to response and consequence management
activities, and contribute to enhancing our knowledge of
terrorism-related issues, including the targets of terrorists and the
terrorists themselves. The book serves as a good primer to geographers
who have yet to apply their skills in the field of terrorism studies and
to all other individuals interested in geography of terrorism. This
book, therefore, is to be recommended, as it offers another toolbox to
those of us concerned with terrorism and its impact on our lives.