The Stream

Understanding today’s suicide bomber

The Stream discusses the psychology and motivation of the modern-day suicide bomber.

What drives a suicide bomber to act? Is it nationalism, religion or desperation? The modern day tactic was popularised by Hezbollah in the 1980s, and has been successfully used by many groups, including the Tamil Tigers, Al Qaeda and Boko Haram. In the last three decades there have reportedly been more than 3,500 suicide attacks around the world, resulting in more than 38,000 deaths. So, who are these men and women? We speak with guests who have spent years studying suicide bombers and their families. Join the conversation at 1930GMT. 

In this episode, we speak to:

Nasra Hassan
Researcher, Suicide attacks in the Islamic world 

Robert Pape @CPOST_UCHICAGO
Founder, Chicago Project on Security and Terrorism
cpost.uchicago.edu

Bader Araj
Professor of Political Sociology, Birzeit University
baderaraj.yolasite.com

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