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Brutality of Jihadist Terrorism. A contest theory perspective and empirical evidence in the period 2002-2010

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  • Raul Caruso

    () (DISCE, Università Cattolica)

  • Friedrich Schneider

    () (Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University of Linz)

Abstract

We interpret the emergence of Jihadist terrorism in the light of contest theory. Al Qaeda may be portrayed as a contest organizer, providing a ‘prize’ to the best terrorist group. Each group maximizes its probability of winning by launching attacks more destructive than previous ones perpetrated by competing groups. This hypothesis is confirmed by the empirical analysis which shows that the number of victims of terrorist attacks increases compared to number of victims of previous attacks in the same country. An upward trend in terrorist brutality is the outcome of competition between groups. Results also show that Al Qaeda-style terrorism is associated with poverty and underprivileged socio-economic conditions.

Suggested Citation

  • Raul Caruso & Friedrich Schneider, 2012. "Brutality of Jihadist Terrorism. A contest theory perspective and empirical evidence in the period 2002-2010," DISCE - Quaderni dell'Istituto di Politica Economica ispe0061, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    • Handle: RePEc:ctc:serie5:ispe0061
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    Cited by:

    1. Hinkkainen Kaisa, 2013. "Homegrown Terrorism: The Known Unknown," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(2), pages 157-182, August.
    2. Caruso, Raul & Schneider, Friedrich, 2013. "Brutality of Jihadist terrorism. A contest theory perspective and empirical evidence in the period 2002–2010," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 35(5), pages 685-696.
    3. 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.
    4. Bassetti, Thomas & Caruso, Raul & Cortes, Darwin, 2015. "Behavioral Differences in Violence: The Case of Intra-Group Differences of Paramilitaries and Guerrillas in Colombia," MPRA Paper 64943, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Azam Jean-Paul & Ferrero Mario, 2016. "Killing for the Sake of Infamy: The Herostratos Syndrome and what to Do about it," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 22(4), pages 357-364, December.
    6. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Islam, Faridul & Sabihuddin Butt, Muhammad, 2014. "The Income Inequality and Domestic Terrorism Nexus: Fresh Evidence from Pakistan," Sukkur IBA Journal of Management and Business, Sukkur IBA University, vol. 1(1), pages 102-111, October.
    7. Malečková Jitka & Stanišić Dragana, 2013. "Does Higher Education Decrease Support for Terrorism?," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 19(3), pages 343-358, December.
    8. Lis Piotr, 2014. "Terrorism, Armed Conflict and Foreign Aid," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, December.
    9. Kollias, Christos & Kyrtsou, Catherine & Papadamou, Stephanos, 2013. "The effects of terrorism and war on the oil price–stock index relationship," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 743-752.
    10. Luigi Pierfranco Campiglio, 2013. "Why Italy's saving rate became (so) low?," DISCE - Quaderni dell'Istituto di Politica Economica ispe0063, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimenti e Istituti di Scienze Economiche (DISCE).
    11. Al-Ississ Mohamad, 2015. "The Cross-Border Impact of Political Violence," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(2), pages 239-272, April.
    12. Marcovina Marco & Pellero Bruno, 2015. "A Mathematical Analysis of Domestic Terrorist Activity in the Years of Lead in Italy," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 21(3), pages 351-389, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    terrorism; contest; negative binomial regression;

    JEL classification:

    • D74 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Conflict; Conflict Resolution; Alliances; Revolutions
    • Z00 - Other Special Topics - - General - - - General

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