Fighting World War III: A suggested strategy

Abstract

Utilizing a rational‐actor policymaker model, this paper presents the necessary and sufficient conditions that must be satisfied for the formation of a transnational antiterrorist institution. Such an institution would tie together nations in their struggle against international terrorism. In particular, these institutions could provide crisis management, preemptive strikes, and retaliatory strikes. After analyzing the obstacles to the formation of such institutions, we present a specific proposal for a transnational commando unit. We chose the parameters of the proposed institution so as to maximize the likelihood of initial formation. In addition, we discuss how the transnational commando unit could, if properly designed, surmount the obstacles to formation. As terrorist groups increase their cooperation and stage incidents of a transnational kind, nations will have to turn to such institutions to increase the effectiveness of commando units, eliminate safe havens, and share intelligence. Although our proposal is more modest than those often put forth, once formed, our institution could evolve over time.