Sex and the Shaheed

Insights from the Life Sciences on Islamic Suicide Terrorism

Bibliographic Data

ID11262098
AuthorsBradley A Thayer (Bradley A. Thayer is Professor of Political Science at Baylor University., corresponding author), Valerie M Hudson (0000-0003-4330-6571, Valerie M. Hudson is Professor of Political Science at Brigham Young University.)
Year2010
Volume34
Issue4
Pages37-62
Publication date2010-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Security (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0162-2889 • E-ISSN: 1531-4804
PublisherMIT Press - Journals (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1162/isec.2010.34.4.37
OpenAlexW2170378789
LanguageEN
Citations received27
References cited22

Theoretical insights from evolutionary psychology and biology can help academics and policymakers better understand both deep and proximate causes of Islamic suicide terrorism. The life sciences can contribute explanations that probe the influence of the following forces on the phenomenon of Islamic suicide terrorism: high levels of gender differentiation, the prevalence of polygyny, and the obstruction of marriage markets delaying marriage for young adult men in the modern Middle East. The influence of these forces has been left virtually unexplored in the social sciences, despite their presumptive application in this case. Life science explanations should be integrated with more conventional social science explanations, which include international anarchy, U.S. hegemony and presence in the Middle East, and culturally molded discourse sanctioning suicide terrorism in the Islamic context. Such a consilient approach, melding the explanatory power of the social and life sciences, offers greater insight into the causal context of Islamic fundamentalist suicide terrorism, the motivation of suicide terrorists, and effective approaches to subvert this form of terrorism

Context (archaeology · Criminology · Epistemology · Explanatory power · Hegemony · Islam · Middle East · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Social science · Sociology · Terror management theory · Terrorism · Health and Conflict Studies · History · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

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