Needs and Membership in Terrorist Organizations

NEEDS AND MEMBERSHIP IN TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS

SIDDIK EKICI, B.S., M.S.

Dissertation Prepared for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS December 2009

APPROVED: David A. McEntire, Major Professor Lisa A. Dicke, Committee Member Sudha S. Arlikatti, Committee Member Emile Sahliyeh, Committee Member Robert L. Bland, Chair of the Department

of Public Administration Thomas L. Evenson, Dean of College of

Public Affairs and Community Service Michael Monticino, Dean of the Robert B. Toulouse School of Graduate Studies

EKICI, SIDDIK. Needs and Membership in Terrorist Organizations. Doctor

of Philosophy (Public Administration and Management), December, 2009, 240 pages, 12 tables, 4 figures, references, 181 titles.

One key to reducing terrorism may be to understand why individuals join terror groups, and to find ways to meet their needs through alternatives to discourage membership in terrorist organizations. The study introduces the hierarchy of needs framework to capture all previous pieces of explanations on why individuals join terror groups under one big umbrella, in order to see the big picture. It does not do a meta-analysis, but rather tests the framework. This study is designed to find out what perceived needs commonly motivate individuals to join terror groups in general and specific terror groups in particular. The research uses Turkey's terrorism experience as a case study which is supported with data from real terrorist in Turkey.

Findings of the descriptive analyses show that majority joined a terror group due to social and affiliative needs. The remaining analyses (bivariate, cross-tabulation and binary logistic regression) show that confitents who perceived esteem and recognition were more likely to become members of other/leftist terror groups, and that rightist terror group members in Turkey tend to have higher education. Education mainly affects a confitent's perception of two needs: social and affiliation and self-actualization. Other demographic variables (age group, region of birth, marital status) die not yield any significant relation with membership in terror groups.

Copyright 2009 by

SIDDIK EKICI

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Completing my degree could not have been possible without the invaluable support and contributions of an organization and numerous people. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the Turkish National Police for providing the scholarship to pursue my doctoral degree in the United States. Also sincere thanks to the members of my dissertation committee for their commitment and guidance. Dr. David A. McEntire, thanks for being open to all ideas and for your support at all stages of this exhausting work. Dr. Lisa A. Dicke, thanks for bringing rigor to my research. Dr. Sudha S. Arlikatti, thanks for your encouragement whenever I was desperate and Dr. Emile Sahliyeh, thanks for being a part of this big project and many others. I also thank you my family members in the Netherlands and Belgium for all the encouragement you provided from far away. In addition, special thanks to you my brother Ahmet Ekici for sharing your data with me, and my friends Huseyin Akdogan, Alican Kapti, Yasin Kose,Sinan Ulkemen, Sebahattin G?ltekin, Taner Cam and Murat Sever for your ideas and knowledge. Finally and foremost, special thanks to you my lovely wife Nursal, my sons Emre, Salih and my beautiful daughter Busra. There is certainly no fitting word to thank you people! I express my highest gratitude to you my dearest ones, for you patience, understanding, support and the belief you had in me even at times I doubted myself.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................................iii

LIST OF TABLES.............................................................................viii

LIST OF FIGURES............................................................................ix

Chapter

I. INTRODUCTION.......................................................................1

Problem Statement...........................................................1 The Purpose of the Study and the Research Questions..............6 Significance of the Study...................................................9 Definition of Terrorism and the Dilemma..............................11

Common Characteristics of Terrorism Definitions.........17 Definition of Terrorism.............................................18 Types of Terrorism..........................................................18 Target Specific Terror Acts ......................................19 Domestic versus International Terrorism .....................19 Guerilla versus Asymmetric Warfare..........................20 Cyberterrorism......................................................20 The Impacts of Terrorism..................................................21 Prevention Intervention.....................................................25 Chapter Conclusion ........................................................26

II. MACRO THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONS ON THE CAUSES OF TERRORISM AND WHY INDIVIDUALS JOIN TERROR GROUPS...28

Introduction...................................................................28 Ideology.......................................................................29 Political Causes (Political System, Political Functions and

Political Structure).................................................30 Cultural and Religious Causes..........................................36 US Foreign Policy...........................................................44 Historical Grievances/Vengeance ......................................45 Poverty........................................................................46 Chapter Conclusion ........................................................50

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III. MICRO THEORETICAL EXPLANATIONS ON THE CAUSES OF TERRORISM AND WHY INDIVIDUALS JOIN TERROR GROUPS.51

Introduction................................................................51 Identity/Belongingness..................................................51 Active Socialization .....................................................54 Weak Family Ties........................................................56 Lack of Education........................................................59 Rational Choice...........................................................61 Terrorist Personality and Psychological Status..................64 Chapter Conclusion .....................................................72

IV. MOTIVATION, THE NEEDS FRAMEWORK AND ITS APPLICATION TO TERRORISM............................................74

Introduction.................................................................74 Motivation Concept ......................................................74 Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Framework.............77

Physiological Needs.............................................78 Safety and Security Needs ....................................78 Social and Affiliative Needs...................................78 Esteem and Recognition Needs..............................78 Self-actualization Need.........................................79 Membership in Gangs and Terror Groups..........................82 Applying the Hierarchy of Needs Framework to Terrorism.....86 Chapter Conclusion ......................................................90

V. CASE STUDY: TERRORISM AND COUNTER TERRORISM IN TURKEY.........................................................................92

Introduction.................................................................92 The Turkish State.........................................................92 Turkey's Terrorism Experience........................................93

Leftist- Separatist Terror Groups.............................95 Rightist-Radical Islamic Terror Groups.....................98 Assessment of the Main Terror Groups and Their Objectives in Turkey...............................................................100 Current Counter Terrorism Policies in Turkey.....................101 Intelligence Gathering..........................................101 Military and Police Operations................................102 Village Guards....................................................102 Regional Governorship and State of Emergency........103 Resettlement Program..........................................104

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Returning Home Bill .............................................104 The Confessor Law .............................................105 Regional Economic Investment Policies...................105 Diplomatic Efforts................................................107 Evaluation of Turkey's Counter Terrorism Policies...............108 Chapter Conclusion .......................................................111

VI. METHODOLOGY................................................................113

Introduction.................................................................113 Hypotheses.................................................................113 Method.......................................................................114 Data Operationalization.................................................118

Dependent Variable.............................................120 Independent Variables..........................................120 Control Variables................................................130 Analyses.....................................................................133 Reliability and Validity Issues..........................................135 IRB Issues..................................................................137 Chapter Conclusion ......................................................137

VII. FINDINGS ........................................................................139

Introduction.................................................................139 Quantitative Findings.....................................................139 Bivariate Correlation......................................................142 Cross-Tabulations.........................................................144 Logistic Regression Analyses..........................................146 Chapter Conclusion ......................................................152

VIII. ANALYSES OF FINDINGS..................................................153

Introduction.................................................................153 Analyses.....................................................................154 Bivariate Correlation......................................................157 Cross-Tabulations.........................................................158 Logistic Regression Analyses..........................................159 Hypotheses Revisited....................................................162 Chapter Conclusion .......................................................164

IX. DISCUSSIONS, RESEARCH LIMITATIONS AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS.................................................................165

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Introduction.................................................................165 Discussions.................................................................165 Research Limitations.....................................................174 Practical Implications.....................................................177 Chapter Conclusion ......................................................187 X. CONCLUSION..................................................................185 Introduction.................................................................185 Needs are Essential in Counter Terrorism..........................185 Suggestions for Future Research.....................................189 APPENDIX A CONSENT FROM PRIMARY INVESTIGATOR (PI)......194 APPENDIX B PERMISSION LETTERS GRANTED TO PI.................196 APPENDIX C SECONDARY DATA AND IRB.................................205 APPENDIX D PROTECTION OF HUMAN SUBJECTS COMMITTEE DECISION...............................................................................208 APPENDIX E SURVEY...............................................................210 APPENDIX F THE SCALE-MATCHING THE VARIABLES.................224 REFERENCE LIST....................................................................226

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