I think the second quoted academic’s conclusions are more relevant in this case. The first researcher assessed people in a leadership role, presumably the terrorist equivalent of a C-suite. The second looked at actual decapitations, where the head of an organization is killed, not just leadership generally, and found it to be an effective strategy.
This makes sense: the heads of organizations serve as focal points for internal negotiations and, simply by occupying the top slot, could help reduce competition amongst the leaders. Losing the head like that could lead to a succession crisis where infighting or uncoordination dominate as the C-suiters jockey for that position.
I think the second quoted academic’s conclusions are more relevant in this case. The first researcher assessed people in a leadership role, presumably the terrorist equivalent of a C-suite. The second looked at actual decapitations, where the head of an organization is killed, not just leadership generally, and found it to be an effective strategy.
This makes sense: the heads of organizations serve as focal points for internal negotiations and, simply by occupying the top slot, could help reduce competition amongst the leaders. Losing the head like that could lead to a succession crisis where infighting or uncoordination dominate as the C-suiters jockey for that position.