The Punctuated-Equilibrium Theory and U.S. Counterterrorism Policy

Despite the existence of large amounts of casualties associated with other causes of death in the United States, the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001 (and its associated body count) have become integrated into the pantheon of jarring historic moments where many can tell you exactly where they were when they heard about it. Often compared to the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor which inaugurated the United States’ entrance into the Second World War, the September 11th attacks similarly lurched American policy on terrorism from a patchwork of different legal statutes and enforcement capabilities at various levels of government to a concerted national push on various fronts (including diplomatic, economic, and military). This is often referred to as the “Global War on Terror,” and it has had a drastic effect on U.S. policy in general as well as counterterrorism in particular. This article seeks to explore this subject in depth by utilizing the punctuated-equilibrium theory in order to elucidate the phenomenon of American counterterrorism policy, post-9/11.