Understanding Lethality Patterns for Shia Terrorism Groups

• In Event: Terrorism

Abstract

Previous terrorism literature conflates motivations of Muslim religious groups, leaving a dearth of understanding of patterns along sectarian lines (Piazza 2009). Are there systematic differences in organizational behavior, capabilities, and characteristics between Shia and Sunni organizations? I theorize that Shia organizations engage in more political and community-based activities than their Sunni counterparts and are therefore less likely to engage in lethal activities than their Sunni counterparts. Using new organizational-level data from the Big Allied and Dangerous (BAAD) project and open source information, this paper finds that Shia groups are in fact less likely to be lethal while Sunni groups are more so. Further, this paper dissects key explanations based on Sunni and Shia ideological texts.

Author

• Nakissa Puneh Jahanbani, United States Military Academy