Terrorist violence and the contextual, facilitative and causal qualities of group-based behaviors

Recent debates have re-emerged in the field of terrorism studies concerning the role of group-based behaviors in the causation of violence and whether suicide bombers display distinct personality traits. This article contributes to both debates through a review of pertinent social psychology supplemented by illustrative examples of successful, failed, and foiled suicide bombing plots that emerged within the United Kingdom over the past decade. The findings suggest that the contextual, facilitative and causal dynamics of group-based behaviors differ dependent upon how the ‘group’ is defined. The narrower the definition, the more causality we can interpret in group-based behaviors. The more broadly defined, the more contextual and facilitative, group-based behaviors appear to be in relation to suicide terrorism.

► I contribute to the debate concerning whether terrorism is a group-based phenomenon.
► I utilize illustrative examples of suicide bombing plots within the United Kingdom.
► I find that the definition of ‘group’ is key to understanding the question.
► Causality can be inferred from group-based behavior in smaller group.
► As groups grow, causality lessons in favor of contextual and facilitative factors.