Dr. Strangelove or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb: suicide attacks in asymmetric warfare

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Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development

ISSN: 1572-8323
Series editor(s): Professor Manas Chatterji

Subject Area: Sociology and Public Policy

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Document Information:
Title:	Dr. Strangelove or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb: suicide attacks in asymmetric warfare
Author(s):	Gerhard Kümmel
Volume:	7 Editor(s): Giuseppe Caforio, Gerhard Kümmel, Bandana Purkayastha ISBN: 978-1-8485-5122-0 eISBN: 978-1-84855-123-7
Citation:	Gerhard Kümmel (2008), Dr. Strangelove or how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb: suicide attacks in asymmetric warfare, in Giuseppe Caforio, Gerhard Kümmel, Bandana Purkayastha (ed.) Armed Forces and Conflict Resolution: Sociological Perspectives (Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development, Volume 7), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.61-73
DOI:	10.1016/S1572-8323(08)07005-7 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Article type:	Chapter Item
Abstract:	Analysts of armed conflict and war have noted a considerable shift in the way wars are conducted in the present. These analyses share the observations that present-day warfare includes more and more non-state actors as warring parties. Terrorist groups are also part of the (post-)modern picture of violent conflict. Within the past decade, they have increasingly relied on the instrument of suicide terrorism. Suicide attacks are an irritating phenomenon as they seem inherently irrational. The paper examines the spread of the suicide attacks in different parts of the world and identifies cross-case structures, contexts, and mechanisms that propel the use of suicide bombers.