ABSTRACT
Terrorism and ideological terrorism in particular, is a political phenomenon par excellence and is therefore explicable in political terms. There is no doubt that terrorism cannot be understood without exploring the real and perceived grievances of groups and individuals who resort to political violence. Grievances of this nature are of a domestic or international nature—or both. But although the same or similar conditions breed terrorists in some countries and not in others, scholars have put forth a multitude of explanations. Focusing on militants in the Lebanese Hezbollah organization who had already undertaken or were willing to carry out suicide missions, one researcher found that most of these terrorists or would-be terrorists “are from poor families” and “geoculturally immobile.” Active terrorists and suicide bombers are guided by their commitment to their terrorist group. Active terrorists come “probably close” to making rational choices in terms of narrow self-interest and rational expectations in their conviction that they will not die but succeed.
