Calibrated killing: examining the relationship between strategies of terrorism and types of violence
Publication Date
December 11, 2025
Creator
Abstract
This thesis aims to answer two main questions. Firstly, what types of violence are associated with different strategies of terrorism? Secondly, what explains these patterns? Answering these questions is essential to understand how terrorist groups make decisions concerning which types of violence to employ. It also enables more effective counter terrorism policy to be devised and implemented. Past scholarly work has failed to address these questions because there has been insufficient research on strategy as a driver of terrorist group decision-making.
This study addresses this gap by offering theoretical development and empirical evidence to show that strategy is an important, but underappreciated, element in terrorist groups’ selection of types of violence. The starting point for this analysis is Kydd and Walter’s five strategies (i.e., spoiling, outbidding, attrition, provocation, intimidation). The thesis extends their model to explain and illustrate the types of violence (understood as casualty numbers, target selection, and weapon selection) associated with each of the five strategies.
To accomplish this, a sequential mixed methods case study approach is adopted. Hypotheses are developed for each type of violence in each strategy and tested through case studies. Each strategy is explored using two case studies of terrorist groups employing that particular strategy, in total examining 10 different groups that span between 1970-2014. Cases were selected to be typical cases across strategies, and within strategies, and differ as much as possible on key elements to increase generalisability. The sequential mixed methods approach used quantitative methods first and then employed qualitative research. The quantitative element leverages the Global Terrorism Database to identify the types of violence. The qualitative element involves the use of documentary evidence, primarily the groups’ own output, to provide evidence of strategy being a major factor in the decision to adopt these patterns of violence.
The thesis provides answers to the two research questions. The quantitative element for each strategy is able to identify the types of violence associated with strategies. The qualitative element is able to show that strategy is influential in the decision to employ these types of violence.
Item Type
ethesis
Thesis Type
PhD
Supervisors
Subjects (LC)
Associated Schools / Departments
School of Politics and International Relations
eprints ID
81675
UoN Repository URI
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Mihell-Hale, Oliver, 20310825, corrections.pdf
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Full-text
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Examined. Thesis now including corrections following viva
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2.53 MB
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Mihell-Hale, Oliver, 20310825, corrections REPORT.pdf
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Examined. Report on corrections made
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199.03 KB
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Adobe PDF
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