The purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive systematic review of current research on the causes and explanations of suicide terrorism. 5 The study of suicide terrorism specifically has been concentrated primarily in the years following 2000. Although modern suicide terrorism has been a threat since the 1980s, there was limited research conducted prior to 2000 that differentiated suicide terrorism from terrorism in general. This article explores research on the various explanations and causes for suicide terrorism that have been proposed in recent academic literature. The strategic approach, however, is only one of the many proposed causal explanations that researchers have considered. 4The apparent success of suicide tactics, especially against a force of significantly superior numbers, provides the basis for the strategic argument as explanation of suicide terrorism’s evolution. The first major contemporary suicide terrorist attacks were the 1981 bombing of the Iraqi embassy in Beirut, and Hezbollah’s attack on the American Marine barracks in Lebanon. It was not until the 1980s that the world experienced suicide terrorism in its modern form. 3 The origins of modern suicide terrorism can also be linked to this asymmetry between opposing forces. Despite the wide variety of tactics each individual suicide attacker employed, one notable similarity can be discerned: suicide tactics tend to be used when a weaker force believes that less drastic measures will be ineffective against a materialistically superior opponent. 2 Modern history has been no less influenced by the use of suicide tactics, the most well-known example being the Japanese Kamikaze pilots of World War II. As early as 400 B.C.E., Greek sailors set ships on fire and steered them into enemy forces, a tactic that has become so common throughout history that it inspired the coining of the term ‘fireship.’ 1 Another example includes suicide attacks executed by the Islamic Order of Assassins during the early Christian Crusades. Instances of suicide tactics are evident throughout history. The terrorist attacks of Septemwere not the first time a terrorist organization used suicide terrorism to achieve their objectives. “Causes and Explanations of Suicide Terrorism: A Systematic Review.” Homeland Security Affairs 14, Article 9 (December 2018). Harmon, Vanessa, Edin Mujkic, Catherine Kaukinen, and Henriikka Weir.
It describes the strengths and limitations of currently available academic research and the conclusions that this literature presents both in terms of policy and future research efforts.
This essay provides a brief background into the issues surrounding suicide terrorism and the evidence currently available concerning causes and motivations. The following is a systematic review of current research in the field of causes and explanations of suicide terrorism, limited to research articles in peer-reviewed journals and grey literature, excluding published books by single authors. The frequency of suicide terrorist attacks has increased dramatically since the year 2000, creating a renewed interest in this area of study, as well as an increase in the importance of understanding individual and organizational motivations behind engagement in suicide terrorism. By Vanessa Harmon, Edin Mujkic, Catherine Kaukinen, & Henriikka Weir Abstract