ABSTRACT
The historical evolution of suicide terrorism provides insightful lessons on the use of the tactic. While Narodnaya Volya of Imperial Russia was instrumental in assessing the practicality of the human and the bomb, the Japanese Kamikaze were the first to understand the overcoming of asymmetry in warfare through the use of systematic and organised suicide missions. Moving on, both the PKK and the Irish Republican Army demonstrated the crucial role of community support in the success of suicide terrorism. Without the public acceptance and legitimacy of an organisation willing to carry out suicide terrorism, sustaining a successful campaign could prove difficult. A similar example of the lack of community support for suicide terrorism is that of the PKK in Turkey, an organisation that struggled to gain legitimacy in the eyes of its own people. Further, in order to establish the same, the PKK indulged in activities, killing many Kurds, the people it claimed to stand for.
