ABSTRACT
Although Salafi jihadism represents the dominant form of terror in the world, it only represents a minority view within Islam. This ideology justifies violent Islamism, as well as inspires Americans to take up arms in Islamist insurgencies around the world. Data here show that radicalized American jihadis prefer to go abroad to fight than to attack civilians at home. When these foreign fighters return, they are less likely to succeed in attacking the US homeland. Returnees are more likely to be detected and prevented from carrying out a terrorist plot. While right-wing terror plots that kill are more common, Islamist plots are more deadly. These data also show that homegrown Islamist terrorists are more likely to succeed when they work alone or with close family members.
