In Their Own Words? Methodological Considerations in the Analysis of Terrorist Autobiographies

Abstract

Despite the growth of terrorism literature in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, there remain several methodological challenges to studying certain aspects of terrorism. This is perhaps most evident in attempts to uncover the attitudes, motivations, and intentions of individuals engaged in violent extremism and how they are sometimes expressed in problematic behavior. Such challenges invariably stem from the fact that terrorists and the organizations to which they belong represent clandestine populations engaged in illegal activity. Unsurprisingly, these qualities make it difficult for the researcher to identify and locate willing subjects of study-let alone a representative sample. In this research note, we suggest the systematic analysis of terrorist autobiographies offers a promising means of investigating difficult-to-study areas of terrorism-related phenomena. Investigation of autobiographical accounts not only offers additional data points for the study of individual psychological issues, but also provides valuable perspectives on the internal structures, processes, and dynamics of terrorist organizations more broadly. Moreover, given most autobiographies cover critical events and personal experiences across the life course, they provide a unique lens into how terrorists perceive their world and insight into their decision-making processes. We support our advocacy of this approach by highlighting its methodological strengths and shortcomings.This article is available in Journal of Strategic Security: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/jss/ vol5/iss4/11 AbstractDespite the growth of terrorism literature in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, there remain several methodological challenges to studying certain aspects of terrorism. This is perhaps most evident in attempts to uncover the attitudes, motivations, and intentions of individuals engaged in violent extremism and how they are sometimes expressed in problematic behavior. Such challenges invariably stem from the fact that terrorists and the organizations to which they belong represent clandestine populations engaged in illegal activity. Unsurprisingly, these qualities make it difficult for the researcher to identify and locate willing subjects of study-let alone a representative sample. In this research note, we suggest the systematic analysis of terrorist autobiographies offers a promising means of investigating difficult-to-study areas of terrorism-related phenomena. Investigation of autobiographical accounts not only offers additional data points for the study of individual psychological issues, but also provides valuable perspectives on the internal structures, processes, and dynamics of terrorist organizations more broadly. Moreover, given most autobiographies cover critical events and personal experiences across the life course, they provide a unique lens into how terrorists perceive their world and insight into their decision-making processes. We support our advocacy of this approach by highlighting its methodological strengths and shortcomings.

Pathways into organized crime: comparing founders and joiners

“…In the current study it is questionable whether the criminals of focus in the (auto)biographies are representative of OC offenders without auto/biographies. Altier et al (2012) makes this point in relation to terrorist autobiographies; they contend biases may exist in the motivations of these individuals, or the characteristics amongst them. Nevertheless unless interviews are undertaken with OC offenders who do not have (auto)biographies then this issue cannot be ameliorated.…”

“…Given this, systematic analysis of autobiographies has the potential to offer understanding of criminal life-span. Critical analysis of autobiographical information allows for examination of underlying behavioral processes over a life course, an advantage not afforded in prevalence studies (Altier et al 2012;Altier et al 2017). Analysis of autobiographical data also limits participant reactivity via; removal of contamination effects found in observation studies, elimination of researcher-participant interactions, removal of expectancy bias from participants, and reduction of artificiality found in interview designs (Altier et al, 2017;Krippendorff 2004).…”

“…This is a problem shared within the terrorism studies literature. Recently however, terrorism-related articles began to make use of historiographical approaches with a particular emphasis on terrorist autobiographies (Altier et al 2012). This study utilizes such data gathering and analytical techniques on 100 organized criminals.…”

Fighting Talk: The Statements of “The IRA/New IRA”

“…14 Gaining access to valid and reliable data has always been problematic. 15 For some there has been an over-reliance on historical archival research, with only a small handful of field interviews.…”

Foreign Bodies: Transnational Activism, the Insurgency in the North Caucasus and “Beyond”

“…Martyr biographies, trial proceedings and official statements, human rights reports, as well as newspaper and newswire reports, amongst other sources, were used to triangulate data. 68 The dataset which I have compiled draws on biographical material from 164 activists who have participated in conflicts in the North Caucasus from 1992 through to 2013. A considerable portion of material concerns individuals who have been killed, although it also includes a small number of activists and foreign volunteers who admitted involvement in hostilities in the North Caucasus, and who have since been arrested and imprisoned.…”