The goal of this research note is to introduce the Leadership for the Extreme and Dangerous for Innovative Results (LEADIR) dataset. LEADIR is an open-source relational dataset containing information on 280 terrorist groups and 295 terrorist leaders active between 2008 and 2017. We first explain how LEADIR was developed and the historiometric method used to collect and code group and leadership information. Next, we discuss key variables at both the group and leader levels. Using descriptive statistics, we also examine these variables in the context of existing terrorism research. Finally, we elaborate on the strengths and limitations of LEADIR. In doing so, we describe the ways in which LEADIR can be used to build on terrorism research.
Publication Information
Ligon, Gina S., Michael K. Logan, and MacKenzie Harms. 2025. “Introducing the Leadership for the Extreme and Dangerous for Innovative Results (LEADIR) Dataset.” Perspectives on Terrorism, 19(3), 105–131. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27413940.