Causes and Consequences of Terrorism

A strong defense of our national security requires that we fully understand the nature of terrorist threats. By better understanding how terrorist groups form, how they recruit and how the public responds to such threats, policymakers can more effectively secure the national interest.

Researchers have investigated factors that motivate suicide bombers, how to better educate the public on terrorism-related risks and how best to understand and respond to different kinds of insurgency. They have used:

• surveys of public attitudes and behaviors in response to terrorist attacks and counter-terrorist policies,
• interviews with suicide bombers to identify their motives, and
• studies comparing governmental-level public responses to the global terrorist threat.

Results indicate that suicide bombers are often motivated by noninstrumental or "sacred" values, over which they will not negotiate, and that small, symbolic concessions may be the most effective way to mitigate these threats. Other results track changes in public beliefs about the risks of terrorism in response to various policies, or document government-level responses.

Institutions collaborating on these research projects include: Texas A&M Research Foundation, Pennsylvania State University- University Park, Howard University, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, Claremont Graduate University, Vanderbilt University, The Ohio State University, and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.