Field:
    International Relations; Comparative Politics; Public Policy

Dissertation Title:
    The Causes of Terrorism: A Reexamination of the Conventional Wisdom

Committee:
    Deborah Larson, David Rapoport, Steven Spiegel, Marc Trachtenberg, Robert Trager, and Amy Zegart

Date of Completion: Fall 2009

Contact Information:
    Max Abrahms
    433 Stanford Ave.
    Palo Alto, California 94306
    Phone: 310-776-1232
    Fax: 310-825-0778

 Curriculum Vitae:
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Dissertation Summary:
    My research analyzes the a priori assumptions that undergird what I call the Strategic Model, which is the dominant paradigm on terrorist behavior, motives, and counterterrorism strategy in both the academic and policy communities. This model holds that (1) terrorism effectively coerces government concessions; (2) groups adopt terrorism to maximize their political return; and (3) the international community can therefore combat terrorism by divesting its political utility relative to nonviolence via peace processes, democracy promotion, or a strict no-concessions policy to terrorism. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, my research demonstrates that (1) terrorism is an extremely ineffective instrument of coercion; (2) terrorist groups do not even approximate so-called political utility maximizers; and (3) counterterrorism strategies that are based on reducing terrorism’s political utility nearly always fail.

    If terrorism is an ineffective instrument of coercion, then why do groups use it? My dissertation proposes and tests three original theories for why rational groups employ terrorism in light of its suboptimal political return. I conclude by exploring the counterterrorism implications if the Strategic Model is indeed wrong, and my theories on the causes of terrorism are right. The dissertation, which will soon result in a book, develops my prior studies in International Security (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009), Security Studies (2007), Studies in Conflict and Terrorism (2006), and Terrorism and Political Violence (2005) on the interrelationship of terrorist effectiveness, motives, and counterterrorism strategy.

Research Interests:
    IR theory, Security Studies, Terrorism, Counterterrorism, Political Psychology

Teaching Interests:
    Beyond my research, I am a dedicated, passionate, and innovative instructor, able to teach a variety of popular courses at both the introductory and graduate levels on major topics such as international relations theory, international security, human security, American foreign policy making, the international relations of the Middle East, political psychology, and both the empirics and theories of substate violence. For the Masters program at Johns Hopkins, for example, I was approached to create and teach a new course. Entitled “Terrorism and Counterterrorism in Theory and Practice,” it is among the only courses offered in the United States purely on these topics. The summer course examines the most fundamental, hotly contested empirical and theoretical debates on terrorism, with a view toward formulating maximally effective counterterrorism responses.