ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes female terrorism through four theories: (1) social learning theory (SLT); (2) differential association theory (DAT); (3) general strain theory (GST); and (4) rational choice theory (RCT). These theories were selected because they offer various frameworks for conceptualizing the perpetration of violent extremism by women. Although the four theories differ in their approaches to understanding terrorism, an important point they share in common is that they reject the idea that terrorists can be described by a distinct set of psychological traits or pathologies. Based on reviews of various concepts and data, it can easily be deduced that, psychosocially, terrorists are highly heterogeneous. Irrespective of stated objectives and group identity, every female terrorist, like every human being, is driven by her own complexity of psychosocial experiences and characteristics.
