Mentor
Brian Lai
Participation year
2016
Abstract

What influences an individual's support for terrorism? One important factor is how much an individual benefits from a terrorist group, including receiving social services. There is an extensive body of literature that has documented how Islamic groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah have set up extensive networks of social services, the latter of which is often recognized as far superior than that of the Lebanese state in terms of organization and resources. Individuals that could benefit from the provision of services by a group that uses terrorism are likely to be more supportive of terrorism and terrorist groups. The benefits provided by the group can change how the group is perceived by an individual, even potentially legitimating their violent activities as well, particularly as the group starts to be seen as replacing state functions. We examine this theory using the Spring 2013 PEW Global Attitudes Survey and the most complete dataset tracking social service provision by terrorist groups to-date. Looking at data from 10 countries that are majority Muslim, we examine the interaction of an individual's economic status as a proxy for needing services and the availability of services from groups on a variety of attitudes towards terrorism and specific groups. We generally find empirical support for our argument.

Anthony Hernandez Rivera
Education
University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras