The International Institute for Strategic Studies
The Jebsen Center for Counter-Terrorism Studies, Tufts University
Arundel House, London
On 12 March 2007, the IISS held a joint workshop in collaboration with the Fletcher School’s Jebsen Center for Counter-Terrorism Studies, on “Female Suicide Bombing and Europe”. The event drew some of the most influential scholars of suicide terrorism in the world today, to discuss the growth of the phenomenon and possible European responses, with a particular focus on gender issues. The workshop forms one part of the IISS’s broader commitment to improve the understanding of terrorism in general and its most recent manifestation, suicide bombing, in particular.
The first session began with a presentation by Dr Anne Speckhard of the Free University, Brussels, on “The Psychology of Suicide Terrorists: A Distinctive Typology or Identity?” Following her extensive interviews with convicted militants, Dr Speckhard stressed the importance of psychological vulnerabilities in explaining individuals’ decisions to become suicide bombers. She highlighted how the specific vulnerabilities in question vary depending on whether or not the individual resides in a conflict zone. She drew attention to the consequences of third-generation immigrants’ alienation in segregated urban environments – an issue of particular significance for European cities.
Dr Speckhard’s presentation launched a number of themes which recurred throughout the day. Moderator Fleur de Villiers, Chairman, IISS Executive Committee, expressed serious doubts about the ability of gender independently to explain suicide bombing, which fuelled a great deal of discussion; while Dr Mia Bloom, author of Dying to Kill: the Allure of Suicide Terror, concurred with Dr Speckhard about the excessive importance given to redemption or honour motives in the received wisdom about female suicide bombing.
The second session included a series of incisive presentations on suicide bombing in particular regions, moderated by Brigadier General (Ret.) Russell Howard, Director, Jebsen Center for Counter-Terrorism Studies, The Fletcher School, Tufts University. Dr Farish Ahmed-Noor, Zentrum fur Moderner Orient, Berlin, presented on
Jemaah Islamiyah in Indonesia; Ms Farhana Ali, RAND, and Jennie E Dow, Tufts University spoke about
Al-Qu’aida; Dr Mia Bloom presented on the Middle East, and Mr Yoram Schweitzer, Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), Tel Aviv spoke about Palestinian suicide bombers. The presentations incorporated thorough knowledge of regional history, deep insight into government policies, and most excitingly, scores of research interviews with failed suicide bombers and their senders. By incorporating regional perspectives, the discussion complemented the morning’s thematic discussion with more specific cultural nuances.
Dr Fernando Reinares of the Elcano Royal Institute for International Strategic Studies, Madrid, then offered Some Remarks on the Current Global Terrorism Threat in Europe, in a key address moderated by Mr Robert Whalley CB. Dr Reinares’s speech cast the entire day’s discussion in the context of the broader problem of confronting terrorism in Europe, focusing particularly on the implications of the recent explosion of Al-Qu’aida activity in North Africa. Coming one day after the anniversary of the 2004 Madrid bombings, the speech encouraged debate about how the day’s findings could inform a concrete policy response to the terrorist threat in Europe. The question of whether the threat was predominantly Islamic in nature proved to be a central point of contention, which spilled over into the afternoon session.
The final session investigated suicide bombers’ motives in the European context, with wide-ranging presentations from Deborah Scroggins, Author of
Emma’s War,
and
Dr Jocelyne Cesari, Harvard University, in a discussion moderated by
Dr Mamoun Fandy, Senior Fellow for Gulf Security, IISS.
The presentations contributed sociological perspectives to the day’s findings, enabling discussants to analyse suicide bombing from the “pointy tip of the spear down to the handle”, as one guest put it.
Concluding remarks from Dr Patrick M. Cronin, Director of Studies, IISS, Mr Nigel Inkster, IISS Director for Transnational Threats and Political Risk, and Brigadier General Russell Howard, The Jebsen Center, brought the event to a conclusion. By analysing how terrorist groups, individuals, communities and governments combine to explain how and why the threat of suicide bombing emerged, the day’s proceedings will inform a robust European policy response. An IISS publication is forthcoming, to be produced in cooperation with the European
Parliament.
