The Geography of Terrorism

Territorial Control and Geographic Distribution of Terrorist Attacks

Primary Research Question

How does the territorial control of insurgent groups influence the geographic distribution of terrorist attacks in conflict zones?

Justification

Understanding the relationship between territorial control and the geographic distribution of terrorist attacks can shed light on the strategies and priorities of insurgent groups. Such insights may help policymakers and military strategists design more effective interventions and counter-terrorism strategies. Moreover, grasping this connection may assist humanitarian organizations in better predicting potential hotspots and thereby, planning their interventions more effectively.

Potential Scholarly Sources

Ash, K. (2018). “The War Will Come to Your Street”: Explaining Geographic Variation in

Terrorism by Rebel Groups. International Interactions, 44(3), 411-436.

Carter, D. B., Kaplan, M. L., & Schultz, K. A. (2022). The Geography of Separatist

Violence. International Studies Quarterly, 66(3), sqac030.

De la Calle, L., & Sánchez-Cuenca, I. (2015). How armed groups fight: Territorial control and

violent tactics. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 38(10), 795-813.

Medina, R. M., & Hepner, G. F. (2013). The geography of international terrorism: an

introduction to spaces and places of violent non-state groups. CRC Press.

Salehyan, I. (2007). Transnational rebels: Neighboring states as sanctuary for rebel

groups. World Politics, 59(2), 217-242.

Keywords/Search Terms

1. Terrorism and territorial control

2. Insurgent groups strategies

3. Geographic distribution of terrorist attacks

4. Conflict zones and violence concentration

5. Spatial analysis of terrorism

Format

This project’s format will be that of a research paper, using qualitative analysis to identify the factors that characterize the relationship between territorial control of insurgent groups and geographic distribution of terrorist attacks in conflict zones.

Concerns & Challenges

As there are many regions in the world where insurgencies are currently taking place or have taken place in the recent past, there should be no lack of information. However, territorial control can be fluid, making it challenging to pin down exact areas of influence at a given time. Also, there is the risk of equating correlation with causation; just because attacks happen in certain territories does not necessarily mean territorial control is the primary motivating factor.