Reviewed by
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, HSO Contributor
Global Business and the Terrorist Threat
Edited By: Harry W. Richardson, Peter Gordon, and James E. Moore II, EE Publishing*
At first glance, these densely packed pages, rife with charts, lists and mathematical formulas will appear so daunting that almost everyone except the most determined and scholarly readers will put the book back on the shelf and walk away. This would be understandable, but a mistake, as there is a great deal of interesting material that will be valuable to not only those who track the more esoteric financial aspects of terrorism, but the reader with general homeland security interests as well. It is true, though, teasing out this information demands a certain degree of reader patience and involvement. A series of subjects, each by a separate author, is gathered into chapters that fit under the general heading of the title of the book. The relationship between topics is not discussed, except in the brief introduction by the editors. Rather than attempting to give an overview of every one of the chapters, I'll list a few of them and a bit of their important, and sometimes provocative, subject matter.
Chapter Two: Globalization, global business and global terrorism: the value of mutual support. The most effective way to defeat terrorism is not to try to protect vulnerable assets - the approach of the US Department of Homeland Security which concentrates on protecting airplanes and airports, ignoring other potential targets. This is like generals fighting the last war, in this case the 9/11 attacks... A much more effective strategy to deal with terrorism is to deprive terrorist organizations of their resources of funding, recruits, weapons, information and so on through joint actions of nations in collaboration with international organizations.
Chapter Three: Business continuity: a systematic approach. Using several examples, the chapter outlines the methods businesses can use to successfully overcome disruptions, either accidental or man made, i.e. terrorist events. For example, because of a devastating fire in an Albuquerque Philips plant in 2001, the Swedish electronic business Ericsson was unable to get supplies and ended up losing their entire cell phone handset business, and yet Nokia, another major customer of the same plant, was able to react quickly and even increase its market share. Businesses must have a plan in place before disaster strikes, not only to minimize damage, but perhaps even take advantage of them.
Chapter Five discusses the question, NBCR terrorism: who should bear the risk? NBCR stands for nuclear, biological, chemical and radiation attacks. As is well known in the security business, private insurance companies, in general, do not write policies that cover the NBCR dangers. And yet, there is evidence that this policy, (or lack of it) is misplaced: Even with the September 11 attacks included in the count, however, the number of Americans killed by International terrorism over the period (1975-2003) is not a great deal more than the number killed by lightning--or by accidents caused by deer or by severe allergic reactions to peanuts over the same period. In almost all years the total number of people worldwide who died at the hands of international terrorists is not much more than the number who drown in bathtubs in the United States--some 300-400. (Mueller (2007, p.1)
The book continues with chapters on London's response to attacks, how disaster news influences stock markets, ( Investors know how to deal with good and bad news. What they can't get over is uncertainty. ) and the effect of 9/11 on the airline industry, with this surprising conclusion about those who decided to drive to destinations rather than fly after 9/11. Much of the risk associated with flying is concentrated in take-offs and landings, while the risk associated with driving increases with the number of miles driven. In fact, in order for flying and driving to have the same risk, a 9/11 attack would have to happen 12 times a year (Sivak and Flannagan, 2003). Nevertheless, Gigerenzer (2006) shows that an estimated additional 1,500 deaths occurred because individuals chose to drive instead of fly.
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is that these difficult topics and questions can actually be reduced to formulas and theories that allow researchers and planners to quantify data that will help provide useful estimates and accurate predictions.
The HSO takeaway: This book will be valuable to security professionals on many levels. Buy it, study it, use it as a gateway to real solutions to many of the seemingly impossibly complex problems that are part of our post 9/11 world.
*Books can be purchase via their website. The cost is $150.00.
Allen Appel is a book and media reviewer who lives and works in Washington, DC. He specializes in reviewing thriller fiction and homeland security and terrorism issues. See his literary book blog at The Thriller Guy.
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