An Application of Neutralization Theory to the Actions and Statements of Female Suicide Terrorists

• In Event: Women and Crime

Abstract

Throughout the evolution of terrorism, violence has been used to incite fear in others for particular objectives, secular, religious, or personal. Women have joined the threat through self-sacrifice in the practice of suicide bombing. Although much research has been conducted in studying the actions and motivations of these women, little has been done through the scope of neutralization theory. David Matza and Gresham Sykes’ neutralization theory includes five techniques of neutralization, which allow for an individual to rationalize or justify a deviant act. This research seeks to answer, how does neutralization theory apply to the statements and actions of female suicide terrorists? Using Matza and Sykes’ techniques of neutralization, I deconstructed the statements of female suicide bombers from Chechnya, Sri Lanka, and Palestine. Neutralization theory has already been applied to various types of crime and violence and to date no application has been given to comprehending female suicide terrorism. Data from the Black Widows of Chechnya, LTTE, and Palestinian Female Suicide Terrorists in a comparative research design provides a deeper insight of terrorism, gender, and theoretical application. This research illuminated two of the five techniques as being more relevant and significant to the statements and actions female suicide terrorists.

Authors

• Mariah Ann Howard, Norwich University

• William Travis Morris, Norwich University