An empirical evaluation of the relation between foreign policy behavior and fatality of transnational terrorism

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b1669264 (Table of Contents)

What kind of foreign policy behaviors of states affect the fatality of transnational terrorist incidents they suffer in a given year? This study argues that states that follow certain foreign policy behaviors are more likely to challenge the strategic interests of other actors in the international arena. In such situations, sponsoring or conducting a terrorist attack may appear as a good tactic for those whose interests are hurt as a result of these foreign policy behaviors. From this point of view, the expectation is that states that pursue certain foreign policy behavior are likely to incur more lethal transnational terrorist incidents. This thesis analyses the following foreign policy behaviors of states; involvement in international crises, intervention in civil wars and foreign policy similarity with the United States. Therefore, it aims to test the possible influence of states’ involvement in international crises, intervention to civil wars and foreign policy similarity with the US on the fatality of terrorist incidents which they incur. For this purpose, I analyze the lethality of transnational terrorist incidents between 1970 and 2007. The findings suggest that certain type of foreign policy behaviors of states have an impact on the fatality of transnational terrorist incidents they are exposed to. More specifically, states’ involvement in international crises and their foreign policy similarity with the United States influence the total number of deaths as a result of transnational terrorist attacks.