Weapon of the Strong? Government Support for Religion and Majoritarian Terrorism

Peter S. Henne, Nilay Saiya and Ashlyn W. Hand

Journal of Conflict Resolution, 2020, vol. 64, issue 10, 1943-1967

Abstract: This article addresses a puzzle in terrorism studies. That terrorism functions as a “weapon of the weak†is conventional wisdom among terrorism researchers. When it comes to religious communities, however, often it is those groups favored by the state—rather than repressed minority communities—that commit acts of terrorism. We argue that this is because official religious favoritism can empower and radicalize majority communities, leading them to commit more and more destructive terrorist attacks. We test this claim using a statistical analysis of Muslim-majority countries. Our findings support the idea that the combination of state support of religion and discrimination against minorities encourages terrorism from majority religious groups.

Keywords: terrorism; human rights; conflict; domestic politics; Islam; repression (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jocore:v:64:y:2020:i:10:p:1943-1967

DOI: 10.1177/0022002720916854

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