Is Terrorism Really a Weapon of the Weak? Debunking the Conventional Wisdom

Bibliographic Data

ID6283786
AuthorsVirginia Page Fortna (0000-0002-6227-8679, Columbia University, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume67
Issue4
Pages642-671
Publication date2023-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/00220027221121143
OpenAlexW4292607784
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited71

That terrorism is a “weapon of the weak” is such deeply held conventional wisdom it has become almost a cliché. “Weak” means many different things in the literature, however, and little rigorous empirical research has tested the contention that weaker groups, however conceived, are more likely to employ terrorism. This article explores prominent weapon of the weak arguments to develop testable hypotheses about group strength and the prevalence of terrorism. Using measures of deliberately indiscriminate attacks on civilians by rebel groups in civil conflicts, as well as multiple measures of rebel strength, it examines systematically whether weaker groups are more likely to employ terrorism. I find surprisingly little empirical support for the conventional wisdom. There is no clear or consistent evidence that deliberately indiscriminate terrorism is a weapon of the weak rather than the strong

Criminology · Economics · Empirical evidence · Empirical research · Epistemology · Political science · Positive economics · Sociology · Terrorism · Law · Philosophy · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Social Psychology · Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence

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