Terrorism and Democracy: Perpetrators and Victims

TLDR

Observers argue that democratic norms generally promote peaceful conflict resolution, yet not all actors in democracies adhere to these rules. The study investigates the relationship between terrorism and democracy using a mid‑1980s regime classification and a national terrorism incidence record. The authors analyze the two datasets by cross‑referencing regime types with national terrorist attack frequencies. The analysis shows that terrorism is most frequent in the world’s most stable democracies, with both perpetrators and victims being citizens of those same democracies.

Abstract

Most observers believe that the 'democratic rules of the game' provide a peaceful means for resolving political conflicts. This may be true but not all groups or even single individuals in democratic societies need play by these rules. This analysis uses two data sets: one that classifies most countries of the world based on how they were ruled in the mid-1980s, and the other on the frequency with which their nationals either perpetrated or were victimized by terrorists attacks, to investigate the relationship between terrorism and democracy. The findings suggest that stable democracy and terrorism go together. An analysis of the data reveal that terrorist attacks occur most often in the world's most stable democracies, and that, further, both the perpetrators and victims of those attacks are citizens of the same democracies.