The origin of terrorist threats: Religious, separatist, or something else?

UNCW Author/Contributor (non-UNCW co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Daniel S. Masters (Creator)

Institution

The University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW )

Web Site: http://library.uncw.edu/

Abstract: Recent studies indicate that the number of terrorist incidents is declining while their lethality is increasing. This trend in casualty rates has raised the rhetoric on terrorism leading to claims that a new form of terrorism has emerged over the last thirty years. The "new terrorism" is defined by a tendency towards maximum destruction and a pronounced religious motivation. The question is whether or not the new terrorism is actually driving current trends in terrorist violence? This study examines casualty rates by terrorist groups categorized by their ideologies and finds that trends in terrorist violence are not being driven by the new terrorism per se. Instead, all forms of terrorism are more violent generally, and variations of ethno-national terrorism are the most violent specifically.

The origin of terrorist threats: Religious, separatist, or something else?
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Additional Information

Publication

Masters, D. C. (2008). The origin of terrorist threats: Religious, separatist, or something else? Terrorism and Political Violence, 20(3), 364-414. doi:10.1080/09546550802073359

Language: English

Date: 2008

Keywords

Terrorist threats, New terrorism, Right-wing/religious terrorism, Ethno-national terrorism, Casualty rates, Mass casualty terrorism

Subjects

Terrorism

Terrorism—Religious aspects

Mass casualties

Terrorists--History

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