Suicide Terrorism in America?: The Complex Social Conditions of This Phenomenon and the Implications for Homeland Security

This research applies social identity and intergroup relations theory to the phenomenon of suicide terrorism and develops a framework that can be used to better understand the threat of suicide terrorism and the implications for United States homeland security. Suicide terrorism is growing worldwide and is becoming more geographically diverse. Traditional studies of suicide terrorism tend to seek causal explanations of the phenomenon. This research uses a grounded theory approach to study the phenomenon that seeks to offer insight, enhance understanding, and provide a meaningful framework for understanding. The findings of this research recommend an alternate framework for understanding suicide terrorism based on the application of social identity theory and intergroup relations theory. Through the identification of alternative normative accounts in the choices that individuals make, this research is able to identify the complex social conditions of suicide terrorism and argues that the phenomenon is driven by powerful socio-cultural systems that prey on an individual's basic identity needs.

Author: Naval Postgraduate School

Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform

Publication Date: Dec 04, 2014

Number of Pages: 74 pages

Binding: Paperback or Softback

ISBN-10: 1505361761

ISBN-13: 9781505361766