Publication

Using evolutionary theory, this paper finds that video-recorded decapitations have not caught on for locally specific reasons. In the West, the tactic is less accessible than one might expect; in Iraq there is an unwillingness to be associated with Zarqawi, and in the Afghan context, it has not spread because it is mainly relevant for mobilizing resources from abroad, which is not a priority for the Taliban. These are however situational variables, and just as suicide bombings took years to spread, there may be campaigns of video-recorded decapitations as conditions change.