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What Leads Some Ordinary Arab Men and Women to Approve of Terrorist Acts Against the United States?

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  • Mark Tessler

    (Department of Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

  • Michael D. H. Robbins

    (Department of Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor)

Abstract

Findings from representative national surveys in Algeria and Jordan show that neither religious orientations, judgments about Western culture, nor economic circumstances account for variance in approval of terrorist acts against U.S. targets. Alternatively, in both countries, approval of terrorism against the United States is disproportionately likely among men and women with negative judgments about their own government and about U.S. foreign policy. Taken together, these findings suggest that approval of terrorism is fostered by negative attitudes toward actors considered responsible for the political and economic status quo. Given that Algeria and Jordan have had different experiences with respect to terrorism and also differ in demographic, political, and economic structure, identical findings from these dissimilar countries suggest that the observed relationships are not country specific and may apply more generally.

Suggested Citation

  • Mark Tessler & Michael D. H. Robbins, 2007. "What Leads Some Ordinary Arab Men and Women to Approve of Terrorist Acts Against the United States?," Journal of Conflict Resolution, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 51(2), pages 305-328, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:jocore:v:51:y:2007:i:2:p:305-328
    DOI: 10.1177/0022002706298135
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Paul Collier & Anke Hoeffler, 2004. "Greed and grievance in civil war," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 56(4), pages 563-595, October.
    2. Paul Collier & Anke Hoeffler, 2000. "Greed and Grievance in Civil War," CSAE Working Paper Series 2000-18, Centre for the Study of African Economies, University of Oxford.
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    Cited by:

    1. Daniel Meierrieks & Thomas Gries, 2020. "‘Pay for It Heavily’: Does U.S. Support for Israel Lead to Anti-American Terrorism?," Defence and Peace Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 31(2), pages 160-176, February.
    2. Malečková Jitka & Stanišić Dragana, 2014. "Changes in Public Opinion and the Occurrence of International Terrorism," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(4), pages 1-23, December.
    3. Hodler, Roland & Raschky, Paul & Strittmatter, Anthony, 2018. "Religiosity and Terrorism: Evidence from Ramadan Fasting," CEPR Discussion Papers 13257, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    4. James A. Piazza, 2019. "Democratic skepticism and support for terrorism in the Palestinian Territories," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 417-443, March.
    5. Friedrich Schneider & Tilman Brück & Daniel Meierrieks, 2015. "The Economics Of Counterterrorism: A Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 131-157, February.
    6. Malečková, Jitka & Stanišić, Dragana, 2011. "Public opinion and terrorist acts," European Journal of Political Economy, Elsevier, vol. 27(S1), pages 107-121.
    7. Roland Hodler & Paul Raschky & Anthony Strittmatter, 2018. "Religion and Terrorism: Evidence from Ramadan Fasting," Papers 1810.09869, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2020.
    8. Jennings, Colin, 2012. "Rationalising ‘Irrational’ Support for Political Violence," SIRE Discussion Papers 2012-87, Scottish Institute for Research in Economics (SIRE).

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    Keywords

    terrorism; attitudes; Algeria; Jordan;
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