Between paradise and prison: External secrecy and visibility in terrorist organisations

Abstract

AbstractThe secret is essential for terrorists. Aware of their position of political and military inferiority towards their adversary, terrorists typically have no choice but to operate clandestinely, emerging from the shadows to carry out acts of violence in order to attract attention. However, the social organisation of the secret has not been the subject of a thorough reflection in the literature on political terrorism. Following Simmel's classic investigation into secrecy and secret societies, this article intends to shed light on “external secrecy”, understood as the social practice of intentionally hiding information and knowledge from external actors that do not belong to the terrorist organisation. The paper explores how external secrecy takes the form of a sort of barrier system that can be crossed by individuals and can be built and removed by organisations. It also examines how external security in terrorist organisations can produce both opportunities for deliberate deception and risks of undesired manipulation by external actors. Finally, the article focuses on the inherent trade‐off between the need for external secrecy and the quest for visibility in terrorist organisations. Overall, this discussion suggests the opportunity to develop a research programme on the management of secrecy in terrorism.