Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Criminal Law

Research subject:

After establishing the boundaries of the research field, the attractiveness and development of terrorism will be traced using social identity theory and group dynamics. This will tie-in with the current terrorism thematic and will offer a basis for empirical research in this much neglected area of criminology.

Project goal:

The social sciences have thus far largely avoided empirical research as a tool for investigating terrorism. This study will seek to close this research gap through a theoretical criminological approach.

Method/approach:

To this end, the first step will be to outline the scope of terrorism. The explicit classification of terrorism as a crime of violence is advocated, the effect of which is not, however, aimed directly at the victims but rather at the general public. The ubiquitous presence of the media offers a means by which terrorist events and messages can be conveyed to a global audience, greatly increasing the reach of terrorism. The difficulties experienced in defining terrorism at both a national and supranational level will also be touched on. This problem is founded in a reliance on definition as well as the subsumption of the subjective perspective and the social perception of the beholder. These difficulties result from the way in which terrorism functions, as well as individual historical and cultural experiences and concrete political and financial interests.

As a group phenomenon, the structure of terrorism will also be addressed. Like all types of groups, terrorist groups are based around a hierarchical structure with network-like elements. Although they are hybrid structures, the conditions of the underground criminal networks in which they operate allow for certain regularities to be observed. Upon closer observation it can be seen that the way in which the media and politicians, as well as some researches, use the concept of the "terrorist network" imparts an undifferentiated generalization that fails to correspond with the reality of terrorism.

The question of how terrorist groups are formed and who they attract will also be addressed. To this end social identity theory, social comparison and attraction-research will be considered. It is evident that terrorist groups form and develop in a similar fashion to other social groups; however they differentiate themselves from other social groups by their exceptional ability for self-enhancement and reduction of personal uncertainty, which makes them particularly attractive.

The focus will then turn to the behavior of terrorist groups and an analysis will take place on how specific terrorist violence can be explained. This analysis will incorporate group dynamic aspects in identity theory. Collective and individual identities within terrorist groups create strong group dynamics; a combination that advances neutralization effects and collective learning.

The combination of theoretical considerations, with an emphasis on the collective nature of terrorism and its self protective properties, offers a blueprint for the development of terrorist groups, which covers their attractiveness as a group, their dynamic with out-groups and their use of violence.