Terrorism and Group Orientation: Changes in Offense Severity Over Time

• In Event: A Closer Look at Terrorist Perpetrators

Abstract

After the 2001 attacks, terrorism became an area of focus for many different disciplines. Surprisingly little research, however, has looked at terrorist group type from a criminological perspective. The purpose of this paper is to observe the changes in the severity of terrorism committed by different groups during the years 1978-2002. Data from the American Terrorism Study were analyzed in order to describe these changes. Results show that group type influences the severity of terrorism committed, but that this has changed over time, particularly for international terrorist groups.

Author

• John Billington, University of Oklahoma