Martyrs in Mesopotamia: The Logic of Suicide Terrorism in Iraq

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Penn collection
CUREJ - College Undergraduate Research Electronic Journal
Degree type
Discipline
Subject
Iraq
Suicide Terrorism
Terrorism
War on Terror
Social Sciences
International Relations
Cristiane Carneiro
Carneiro
Cristiane
International Relations
Funder
Grant number
License
Copyright date
Distributor
Related resources
Contributor
Abstract

Although the tactic of suicide terrorism is thousands of years old, it has appeared in Iraq at unprecedented levels. The predominance of suicide terrorism in the insurgency has led scholars to embrace two diametrically opposed theoretical frameworks. Whereas Huntington’s framework explains suicide terrorism in Iraq as the result of a clash of civilizations between the Western and Islamic worlds, Pape’s framework argues that secular nationalist forces in opposition to the U.S. occupation conduct the attacks. However, both of these frameworks overlook the ethno-sectarian divisions within the insurgency. This thesis offers a new theoretical framework, which argues that suicide terrorism is a practical tactic adopted by Sunni groups that lack both the political means and the conventional military capability to achieve their goals. However, as the U.S. begins to reintegrate Sunnis into the state and crackdown on Iranian-backed Shi’a groups, many Shi’a may find themselves alienated and disenfranchised. This could herald a similar Shi’a suicide terror campaign in Iraq.

Advisor
Cristiane
Carneiro
Date Range for Data Collection (Start Date)
Date Range for Data Collection (End Date)
Digital Object Identifier
Series name and number
Publication date
2008-03-01
Journal title
Volume number
Issue number
Publisher
Publisher DOI
Journal Issue
Comments
Recommended citation
Collection