Despite the vast amount of scholarly attention, the issue of decapitation has enjoyed, research on decapitation has primarily focused on US and Israeli cases. Nonetheless, decapitation as a...Show moreDespite the vast amount of scholarly attention, the issue of decapitation has enjoyed, research on decapitation has primarily focused on US and Israeli cases. Nonetheless, decapitation as a counterterrorism measure used by the Russian authorities, has been surprisingly under-researched. Hence, this paper aspires to contribute to the academic debate by filling this under-researched gap. Further building onto Morehouse’s work (2014), this paper presents an analysis of the impact of Russian decapitation efforts on the operational effectiveness of Chechen rebel groups for the period between 1995 and 2014. Central themes this study is concerned with involve the question of whether or not decapitation efforts have significantly and consistently reduced the number of casualties and subsequent attacks. This paper found that seen over the whole period of research, the number of casualties and the frequency of the attacks did decrease. Nevertheless, this decrease was accompanied by peaks and throughs, and, therefore, these decreases were not consistent.Show less
