Assessing the effect of international terrorism on civil liberties using a potential outcomes framework

Antonis Adam and Evi Tsavou

LSE Research Online Documents on Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library

Abstract: In this paper, we evaluate the effect of international terrorism on the civil liberties of the targeted states from 1972 through 2018, using a cross-country dataset. To deal with the problem of selection and control for the pre-attack dynamics, we use a potential outcomes framework to uncover the effect of the treatment on the outcome variable over time. In democracies, civil liberties are restricted after an international terrorist attack. The identified impact of international terrorism on civil liberties suggests an extended “state of emergency” period, as explained by the significant negative initial response, 1–8 years after an international attack occurs. Contrarily, we provide evidence for increased respect for civil liberties 2–10 years after an international attack occurs in authoritarian settings. The estimated effect appears to be non-negligible and robust across various specifications.

Keywords: autocracies; civil liberties; democracies; potential outcomes framework; terrorism (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C31 D74 H56 P14 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 36 pages
Date: 2024-07-31
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Published in Public Choice, 31, July, 2024, 200(1-2), pp. 201 - 236. ISSN: 0048-5829

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http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/122337/ Open access version. (application/pdf)

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Journal Article: Assessing the effect of international terrorism on civil liberties using a potential outcomes framework (2024)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ehl:lserod:122337

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