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Terrorism Is a Choice, Not a Symptom

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David Firester, Ph.D.

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David Firester

Poverty, ignorance, and other comforting explanations keep getting terrorism wrong.

Root-cause explanations treat terrorism as something that happens to its perpetrators. The record says otherwise: it is a weapon selected by actors who weigh alternatives and choose it. The policy consequences of getting this wrong are not small.

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←Evolutions in Suicide Bombing: Exploring the Relationship between the Tactic and Its Application by Non-State Armed Groups Across Various Conflict Zones Over Time
New Peer-Reviewed Publication: A Target-Centric Lens on Terrorism vs. Guerrilla Warfare→

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