ABSTRACT
The first variable tested has been the role of ideology and overall strategy. It has been argued that this variable’s importance lies in the fact that it is in essence an organization’s ideological foundation that frames the worldview of its members and thus provides a sense of collective identity. Ideology is also instrumental in identifying the enemy, while also providing the necessary explanation and justification for its targeting. Moreover, ideology determines a group’s core objectives and the strategy for how and by what means these objectives are to be achieved. And finally, ideology is a critical component in determining a group’s ambitions, as well as the overall perception of urgency for armed action in order to fulfill the given aspirations. At the operational level then, the group’s core strategy translates into the frequency and intensity of its military operations. This is where ideology, strategy and innovation meet, in the sense that terrorists’ innovation has been hypothesized to be driven by the need to achieve the capability necessary for reaching and sustaining the level of intensity preferred by the group.
