A consortium of researchers dedicated to improving the understanding of the human causes and consequences of terrorism

Extremists and Unconventional Weapons: Examining the Pursuit of Chemical and Biological Agents

Abstract:

In this study, we examine the individual-level characteristics of extremists’ pursuit of chemical/biological (CB) agents. Using three different maximum likelihood estimation techniques, we identify three key findings. First, older extremists are more likely to pursue CB than younger extremists. Second, extremists who are jobless or students are more likely to pursue CB than employed extremists. Third, Islamist, far right, and far left extremists are less likely to pursue CB than single issue extremists. We do not find any evidence that gender or education have an effect on whether an extremist will pursue CB agents. Since there has been little quantitative examination of unconventional weapon choices among violent extremists, this study makes an important contribution to the literature on CB adversaries.

Publication Information

Full Citation:

Guarrieri, Thomas R. and Collin J. Meisel. 2019. "Extremists and Unconventional Weapons: Examining the Pursuit of Chemical and Biological Agents." Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression (December). https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/19434472.2019.1698633?journalCode=rirt20

START Author(s):

Additional Info