Editing Terrorism (section)

=== Ending terrorist groups ===
[[File:RANDterroristGpsEnd2006.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|How terrorist groups end (n = 268): The most common ending for a terrorist group is to convert to nonviolence via negotiations (43%), with most of the rest terminated by routine policing (40%). Groups that were ended by military force constituted only 7%.<ref>The researchers found 648 terrorist groups active between 1968 and 2006. Of those, 136 splintered and 244 were still active in 2006 (Jones and Libicki, 2008, p. 19)</ref>]]

Jones and Libicki (2008) created a list of all the terrorist groups they could find that were active between 1968 and 2006. They found 648. Of those, 136 splintered and 244 were still active in 2006.<ref>Jones and Libicki (2008, p. 19)</ref> Of the ones that ended, 43% converted to nonviolent political actions, like the [[Irish Republican Army]] in Northern Ireland; 40% were defeated by law enforcement; 7% (20 groups) were defeated by military force; and 10% succeeded.

42 groups became large enough to be labeled an insurgency; 38 of those had ended by 2006. Of those, 47% converted to nonviolent political actors. Only 5% were ended by law enforcement, and 21% were defeated by military force. 26% won.<ref>Jones and Libicki (2008, p. 101, Table 5.4)</ref> Jones and Libicki concluded that military force may be necessary to deal with large insurgencies but are only occasionally decisive, because the military is too often seen as a bigger threat to civilians than the terrorists. To avoid that, the [[rules of engagement]] must be conscious of [[collateral damage]] and work to minimize it.

Another researcher, Audrey Cronin, lists six primary ways that terrorist groups end:<ref>{{cite book |last1=Cronin |first1=Audrey Kurth |title=How Terrorism Ends: Understanding the Decline and Demise of Terrorist Campaigns |date=2009 |publisher=Princeton U. Press |isbn=978-0-691-13948-7}}</ref>
# Capture or killing of a group's leader (Decapitation)
# Entry of the group into a legitimate political process (Negotiation)
# Achievement of group aims (Success)
# Group implosion or loss of public support (Failure)
# Defeat and elimination through brute force (Repression)
# Transition from terrorism into other forms of violence (Reorientation)