The Social and Religious Characteristics of Suicide Bombers and Their Victims

Terrorism and Political Violence

Volumn 15, Issue 3, 2003, Pages

  Weinberg, Leonard ^a   Pedahzur, Ami ^b   Canetti Nisim, Daphna ^b,c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA   (United States)

^b UNIVERSITY OF HAIFA   (Israel)

^c Department of Special Projects   (Israel)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 84862351987     PISSN: 09546553     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/09546550312331293167     Document Type: Review

References (23)

1. For a brief history of suicide bombings around the world see, Yoram Schweitzer, 'Suicide Terrorism: Development and main characteristics', in Boaz Ganor (ed.), Countering Suicide Terrorism (Herzilya, Israel: The International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism, 2001) pp.75-85.
2. Boaz Ganor, 'Suicide Terrorism: An Overview', in Ganor (ed.), Countering Suicide Terrorism, p.1.
3. See, for example, Samuel Katz, Israel Versus Jibril (New York: Paragon Books, 1993) pp. 130-52.
4. Ariel Merari, 'The Readiness to Kill and Die', in Walter Reich (ed.), Origins of Terrorism (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990)
5. For an account see, Robin Wright, In the Name of God (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989) pp. 102-3; See, also, Martin Kramer, 'The Moral Logic of Hizballah', in Walter Reich (ed.), Origin of Terrorism (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990) pp. 131-57.
6. For an account see, Robin Wright, In the Name of God (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1989) pp. 102-3; See, also, Martin Kramer, 'The Moral Logic of Hizballah', in Walter Reich (ed.), Origin of Terrorism (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1990) pp. 131-57.
7. Among others, Walter Laqueur calls attention to the strong suicidal motivation or desire to sacrifice the self, to become martyrs in others words, in the actions of many terrorists, sacred and secular. He mentions the Russian revolutionaries in particular; Terrorism (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1977).
8. Ehud Sprinzak, 'Rational Fanatics' Foreign Policy (Sept./Oct. 2000) p.69.
9. Gabriel Ben-Dor, Ami Pedahzur and Arie Perliger, National Security Studies Center Bulletin (Oct. 2002) pp.1-3.
10. See, for example, Yonah Alexander Palestinian Religious Terrorism (Ardsley, NY: Transnational Publishers, 2002) pp. 1-44.
11. For a good description of the phenomenon see, Asaf Moghadam, 'Palestinian Suicide Bombing in the Second Intifada', Studies in Conflict and Terrorism 26 (2003) pp.65-92.
12. Ami Pedahzur, Arie Perliger and Leonard Weinberg, 'Altruism and Fatalism: The Characteristics of Palestinian Suicide Terrorists', Deviant Behavior 24:4 (July 2003) pp.405-24.
13. Molly Moore and John Anderson, 'Suicide Bombers Change Mideast's Military Balance', The Washington Post (Aug. 18, 2002) p.2.
14. See, for example, Raphael Israeli, 'Islamikaze and Their Significance' Terrorism and Political Violence 9:3 (Autumn 1997) pp.96-121; Karin Andriolo, 'Murder by Suicide: Episodes from Muslim History', American Anthropologist 104:3 (2002) pp.736-42.
15. See, for example, Raphael Israeli, 'Islamikaze and Their Significance' Terrorism and Political Violence 9:3 (Autumn 1997) pp.96-121; Karin Andriolo, 'Murder by Suicide: Episodes from Muslim History', American Anthropologist 104:3 (2002) pp.736-42.
16. See, for example, J. Bowyer Bell, The Irish Troubles: A Generation of Violence, 1967-1992 (New York, 1993) ad passim.
17. Emile Durkheim, Suicide (Glencoe, IL: The Free Press, 1951); see also, Steven Stack, 'Durkheim's Theory of Fatalistic Suicide' The Journal of Social Psychology 107 (1979) pp.161-8; Lung-Chang Young, 'Altruistic Suicide: A Subjective Approach', Sociological Bulletin 21:2 (1972) pp. 103-21.
18. Emile Durkheim, Suicide (Glencoe, IL: The Free Press, 1951); see also, Steven Stack, 'Durkheim's Theory of Fatalistic Suicide' The Journal of Social Psychology 107 (1979) pp.161-8; Lung-Chang Young, 'Altruistic Suicide: A Subjective Approach', Sociological Bulletin 21:2 (1972) pp. 103-21.
19. Emile Durkheim, Suicide (Glencoe, IL: The Free Press, 1951); see also, Steven Stack, 'Durkheim's Theory of Fatalistic Suicide' The Journal of Social Psychology 107 (1979) pp.161-8; Lung-Chang Young, 'Altruistic Suicide: A Subjective Approach', Sociological Bulletin 21:2 (1972) pp. 103-21.
20. Kathryn Johnson, 'Durkheim Revisited: Why Do Women Kill Themselves?' Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior 9 (1979) pp. 145-53.
21. The surveys were conducted by telephone twice a year, in Oct. and April 2000-2002. Two thousand individuals were questioned on each occasion. The sample was reasonably representative of the entire Israeli population, but only the responses of Jews (about 80 percent of the total sample) were included in this analysis. For more details, see nssc.haifa.ac.il.
22. For statements along these lines see, Yonah Alexander, (note 9) pp.343-99.
23. See, for example, Gerhard Weinberg, A World at Arms (Cambridge UK: Cambridge University Press, 1994) pp.574-81.