Suicide Missions: the ‘political opportunity structure’ and constraints of constituency

Aoibhín de Búrca

The Constitutionalism Web-Papers from University of Hamburg, Faculty for Economics and Social Sciences, Department of Social Sciences, Institute of Political Science

Abstract: The paper uses the ‘political opportunity structure’ model to show how suicide missions andpolitical violence are legitimized by militant groups to their constituency, and how constituencycan act as one of the constraints on the militant group. Militant groups in situations of contentiouspolitics in ethno nationalist conflicts need the support and social sanction of the constituency theyclaim to represent. Research shows that suicide missions occur where there is social sanction andsupport from the constituency for the tactic, but constituencies in democracies do not supportsuicide missions and/or other militant attacks, carried out in their name, where there are highcivilian casualty rates. The paper argues that groups in ethno nationalist conflicts legitimize theresort to extreme political violence, such as suicide missions, to their constituency using thepolitical opportunity structure model. There are many explanations given for why suicide missionsoccur, such as religion, lethality, poverty and psychological problems, but current explanationsfocus primarily on the presence of suicide missions. However, this paper also looks at the absenceof suicide missions by militant groups in situations of contentious politics and conflict. It does thisusing two case studies: one where suicide missions are absent (the IRA in Northern Ireland) andanother where there is the presence of suicide missions (Hamas in Israel/Palestine).

Date: 2009-03-01
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