Suicide Bombing: The Organizational Motivation Behind the Destruction

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Individual suicide bombers are difficult to detect and apprehend, therefore governments plagued by these attacks are better served by convincing the leaders of terrorist groups not to conduct such campaigns. To accomplish this, however, government leaders must understand exactly what motivates a terror group to turn to this method of attack in the first place. The central question of this thesis is: why have terrorist organizations chosen to use suicide bombing at some points in their struggles but not in others? Terrorist leaders are influenced by the desire to increase the power, prestige, and legitimacy of their organizations, and by the tactical efficiency of suicide terrorism in the face of limited potential options. The desire to create an independent state or to remove "foreign infidels" from sacred lands is also a powerful motivator that encourages the use of the suicide bombing tactic. Finally, a permissive environment is necessary to sustain the campaign and to allow the accomplishment of its objectives. The importance of this permissive environment to start, accelerate, or sustain a suicide bombing campaign cannot be overstated. It is the single most important factor in determining whether suicide violence will take root. If suicide attacks do not resonate with the desired population, the perpetrating organization will seek other methods to achieve its objectives.