International Terrorism, Domestic Political Instability, and the Escalation Effect. (6th February 2013)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Campos, Nauro F.; Gassebner, Martin
• Is Part Of: Economics & politics. Volume 25:Number 1(2013:Mar.)
• Page Start: 27
• Page End: 47
• Publication Date: 2013-02-06
• Subjects: Economic policy -- Periodicals; Political science -- Periodicals; 330.9
• DOI: 10.1111/ecpo.12002
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0954-1985

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main" id="ecpo12002-abs-0001"> <title> <x xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p>What are the main causes of international terrorism? Despite the meticulous examination of various candidate explanations, existing estimates still diverge in sign, size, and significance. This article puts forward a novel explanation and supporting evidence. We argue that domestic political instability provides the learning environment needed to successfully execute international terror attacks. Using a yearly panel of 123 countries over 1973–2003, we find that the occurrence of civil wars increases fatalities and the number of international terrorist acts by 45%. These results hold for alternative indicators of political instability, estimators, subsamples, subperiods, and accounting for competing explanations.</p> </abstract>