Dr. Vedlitz, Director of ISTPP, Dr. Rotem Dvir, and Dr. Nehemia Geva have published their article, “Unpacking Public Perceptions of Terrorism: Does Type of Attack Matter,” in Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. In their article, the research team examines survey data regarding American citizens’ views of conventional and cyber-terrorism threats. This research uses survey data collected by ISTPP from their NSF RAPID Grant, #SES‐1624296.
The team reviews how type of terror attack relates to people’s preferences for types of anti-terror policies. They find that earlier terror research studies do not paint a clear picture of how the public understands one type of terror threat over another. When comparing conventional terrorism threats to cyber-attacks, Dvir, Geva, and Vedlitz argue that conventional attacks are more understood and lead to more direct policy actions sought by the public. This may change as awareness of cyber-attacks becomes more prevalent and better understood.
