The research design that Robert A. Pape employs in “The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism” is a simple quantitative, cross-national analysis that incorporates critical qualitative features by the author as well in an attempt to strengthen his argument. The quantitative aspect of the research design is derived from Pape’s analysis of data on all suicide terror attacks between 1980 and 2001. The qualitative aspect of the research design is evident in Pape’s analysis of historical materials, religious extremism and terrorists’ motivations. His research design, perhaps inadvertently, seems to be an example of the ideas put forth by King, Keohane, and Verba in regards to the mindset that “both quantitative and qualitative research can be systematic
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The main strengths of the design that he employs appear to be his contributions in terms of data collection and substantial work on combatting the conventional view that individuals adopt suicide terror tactics due to extreme religious beliefs. In terms of data collection and design, what Pape accomplishes here is important because as he points out early on “although terrorism has long been part of international politics, we do not have good explanations for the growing phenomenon of suicide terrorism” (343). It appears Pape has a flair for exaggeration when he states, repeatedly, that the “study collects the universe of suicide terrorist attacks,” yet the data is useful enough to move forward the explanation of his theory of the coercive logic of suicide terrorism. Using information about every suicide terrorist attack from 1980 to 2001 found in Lexis Nexis’s online database of world news media, Pape reports that three properties are consistent with a strategic logic motivation for suicide terrorism, but not with irrational or fanatical behavior: timing, nationalist goals, and target selection. He presents plausible scenarios that support this theory, and for that it could be said this is another strength that stems from the research design. However, as evidenced below, potential ill-fated weaknesses in the design seem to exist as
The main strengths of the design that he employs appear to be his contributions in terms of data collection and substantial work on combatting the conventional view that individuals adopt suicide terror tactics due to extreme religious beliefs. In terms of data collection and design, what Pape accomplishes here is important because as he points out early on “although terrorism has long been part of international politics, we do not have good explanations for the growing phenomenon of suicide terrorism” (343). It appears Pape has a flair for exaggeration when he states, repeatedly, that the “study collects the universe of suicide terrorist attacks,” yet the data is useful enough to move forward the explanation of his theory of the coercive logic of suicide terrorism. Using information about every suicide terrorist attack from 1980 to 2001 found in Lexis Nexis’s online database of world news media, Pape reports that three properties are consistent with a strategic logic motivation for suicide terrorism, but not with irrational or fanatical behavior: timing, nationalist goals, and target selection. He presents plausible scenarios that support this theory, and for that it could be said this is another strength that stems from the research design. However, as evidenced below, potential ill-fated weaknesses in the design seem to exist as