Lone wolf terrorism, or lone actor terrorism, is a particular kind of terrorism committed by an individual who both plans and commits the act on their own. The precise definition of the term varies, and some definitions include those directed by larger organizations and small cells. Other names for the phenomenon include lone operator terrorism, "freelancers", solo terrorists, and individual terror cells.
The name 'lone wolf' is derived from the notion of a lone wolf, a pack animal that has left or been excluded from its pack. The term was popularized in the late 1990s, from the FBI and the San Diego Police's investigation into the activities of white supremacists Alex Curtis and Tom Metzger, named Operation Lone Wolf, largely due to their encouragement of other racists to commit violent acts, which they dubbed "lone wolf" action. Compared to the general population and members of organized terrorist groups, lone wolf terrorists are more likely to have been diagnosed with a mental illness, though it is not an accurate profiler.
Definition
The term lone actor or lone wolf is not a legal term or a social science concept.[1] It is an ill-defined and academically contested construct, manufactured by the media and by radical political actors.[2][bettersourceneeded] It is usually defined as a terrorist who operates on their own without outside help. Other definitions include terrorists who operated solely on their own, but also those who committed an act themselves while being directed by a larger organization, groups of two and small cells.[3]
Other equivalent terms include lone operator terrorism, freelancers, solo terrorists, and individual terror cells.[4] It is related to the tactic of leaderless resistance.[5] The descriptor 'lone wolf' is derived from the notion of a lone wolf, a pack animal that has left or been excluded from its pack. This particular term is more likely to be used by American law enforcement than by academics who study this phenomenon.[6] The term was popularized in the late 1990s, from the FBI and the San Diego Police's investigation into the activities of white supremacists Alex Curtis and Tom Metzger, named Operation Lone Wolf, largely due to their encouragement of other racists to commit violent acts, which they dubbed "lone wolf" action.[7][5]
Motives
Lone actor terrorists are ideologically driven, with political or religious motives, and are intended to create fear and influence public opinion.[1] Lone wolf terrorists may sympathize with and consider themselves part of larger groups, but they are usually not active participants.[8] The links between lone wolves and actual terrorist groups tend to be informal and conducted online.[9] These individuals tend to become radicalized online and through media outlets.[10]
There have been cases of terrorist attacks conducted by individuals which were later found to have been directed remotely by terrorist organisations. Thus they were technically not lone wolves.[11][12]
History
Lone actor attacks have become the subject of academic research.[13] Historian Richard Jenson says the years 1878–1934 were the era of anarchist terrorism and should be considered the classic age of "lone wolf" or leaderless terrorism. Anarchists rejected authoritarian, centralized control over acts of planned violence as well as over anything else. Jenson says there were hundreds of violent anarchist incidents during this period most of which were committed by lone individuals or very small groups without command structures or leaders.[14] Since 1940, there have been around 100 successful lone wolf attacks in the United States.[13]
While the lone wolf acts to advance the ideological or philosophical beliefs of an extremist group, they act on their own, without any outside command or direction. The lone wolf's tactics and methods are conceived and directed solely on their own; in many cases, such as the tactics described by Curtis, the lone wolf never has personal contact with the group they identify with. As such, it is considerably more difficult for counter-terrorism officials to gather intelligence on lone wolves, since they may not come into contact with routine counter-terrorist surveillance.[15] A 2013 analysis by Sarah Teich, a research assistant at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism, found five emerging trends in Islamist lone wolf terrorism in North America and western Europe between 1990 and 2013:
An increase in the number of countries targeted by lone wolves from the 1990s to the 2000s.
An increase in the number of people injured and killed by lone wolves.
Increased effectiveness of law enforcement and counter-terrorism.
Consistency in the distribution of attacks by "actor types" (loners, lone wolves, and lone wolf packs).
An increase in the number of attacks against military personnel.[16]
In the United States, lone wolves may present a greater threat than organized groups.[17]
According to the Financial Times, counter-terrorism officials refer to "lone individuals known to authorities but not considered important enough to escalate investigations" as "known wolves".[18]
Some groups actively advocate lone wolf actions. Anti-abortion militant terrorist group the Army of God uses "leaderless resistance" as its organizing principle.[19] According to The New York Times, in news analysis of the Boston Marathon bombing, the Al-Qaeda activist Samir Khan, publishing in Inspire, advocated individual terrorist actions directed at Americans and published detailed recipes online.[20]
Mental health factors
Compared to the general population, lone wolf terrorists are significantly more likely to have been diagnosed with a mental illness, although it is not an accurate profiler.[21] Studies have found that roughly a third of lone wolf terrorists have been diagnosed at some point in their life with a mental illness.[22] This puts lone wolves as being 13.5 times more likely to suffer from a mental illness than a member of an organized terrorist group, such as al-Qaeda or ISIS. Environmental factors such as relationships with those belonging to a terrorist group, social isolation, and various stressorsmediate the relationship between mental illness and lone wolf terrorism.[23]
Mental health challenges are thought to make some individuals among the many who suffer from certain "psychological disturbances", vulnerable to being inspired by extremist ideologies to commit acts of lone wolf terrorism.[24] An alternative explanation is that terrorist groups reject those with mental illnesses as they pose a security risk, creating a selection bias.[25]
Stochastic terrorism refers to political or media figures publicly demonizing a person or group, inspiring their supporters to commit a violent act against the target of the speech. Unlike incitement to terrorism, this is done using indirect, vague or coded language, which allows the instigator to plausibly disclaim responsibility for the resulting violence. Global trends point to increasing violent rhetoric and political violence, including more evidence of stochastic terrorism.[citation needed] It is in this manner that the stochastic terrorist is thought to randomly incite individuals predisposed to acts of violence. Because stochastic terrorists do not target and incite individual perpetrators of terror with their message, the perpetrator may be labeled a lone wolf by law enforcement, while the inciters avoid legal culpability and public scrutiny.[26] In their 2017 book The Age of Lone Wolf Terrorism, criminologist Mark S. Hamm and sociologist Ramón Spaaij discuss stochastic terrorism as a form of "indirect enabling" of terrorists.[26] They write that "stochastic terrorism is the method of international recruitment used by ISIS", and they refer to Anwar al-Awlaki and Alex Jones as stochastic terrorists.[27]
Spaaij, Ramón (2012). Understanding Lone Wolf Terrorism: Global Patterns, Motivations and Prevention. Springer Briefs in Criminology. New York: Springer. ISBN978-94-007-2980-3.
Kaplan, Jeffrey (2022). "No Longer Alone: Lone Wolves, Wolf Packs, and Made for Web TV Specials". In Perry, Barbara; Gruenewald, Jeff; Scrivens, Ryan (eds.). Right-Wing Extremism in Canada and the United States. Palgrave Hate Studies. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan. pp.279–298. ISBN978-3-030-99804-2.
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