Driven to Death

"The deepest study yet of one of the least understood phenomena of our time. A scholarly work that read like a page-turner."---Bob Simon, CBS News Chief Middle Eastern correspondent and recipient of the Edward Weintal Prize for Diplomatic Reporting.

"Driven to Death is as thorough, balanced, and lucid an application of social science to the important problem of terrorism as I have seen. Merari has addressed the questions of motivation and capacity for a suicide attack at an individual, terrorist group, and societal level. He considers each level essential to a campaign of suicidal terrorism. He has summoned all the available factual evidence and done extensive empirial research himself to supplement the often spotty record of what is known reliably. He reviews, respectfully but critically, every theory that has been used to explain `ordinary' suicide or suicide terrorism --- bringing to bear extermely careful judgements about the evidence. All this is done with alacrity and an ease of style that makes the reader fascinated with his use of both theory and social science. Needless to say, the suicide bomber is the weapon we now fear most and from which we call on governments most passionately for pro tection. Our protectors everywhere should by reading Driven to Death. So should every social scientist trying to address persuasively a multifaceted issue of policy."---Philip B. Heymann, James Barr Ames Professor of Law, Harvard University, Deputy Attorney General, U. S. Department of Justice, 1993-1994.

"Driven to Death is a major contribution to the literature on suicide terrorism by a scholar who has tracked this phenomenon for over a quarter of a century. It presents one of the most detailed and insightful analyses of suicide terrorism available and is essential reading for those wishing to understand the terrorist mindset."---Bruce Hoffman, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

"Based on year of meticulous research and rigorous analysis, Ariel Merari's excellent stud sheds new light on the psychological motivations for Palestinian suicide bombings and ably situates the case in its wider historical context. His authoritative and richly-documented account undermines the dominant consensus that volunteers for suicide missions are not distinguishable from their peers but confirms that the key to prevention lies in changing the attitudes of an approving community."---Martha Crenshaw, Senior Fellow, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Standford University

Suicide attacks are the definitive form of terrorism, More than any other terrorist tactic, they convey the ruthless willingness of present day terrorists to kill themselves for killing others. Since September II, 2001, the number of suicide attacks around the world has risen dramatically, causing on average far more fatalities per attack than other forms of terrorism.

What drives a person to kill himself for killing others, in the name of a political or religious cause? This book is the first to report a series of studies in which failed suicide bombers and organizers of suicide attacks were subjected to systematic clinical psychological interviews and tests and were compared to non-suicide terorists. This direct psychological examination enabled a first-hand assessment of the personality characteristics and motivation of suicide bombers. Additional interviews conducted by seasoned area specialists provided a comprehensive picture of the ways by which the suicide bombers were recruited, prepared, and dispatched to their planned death, as well as how they felt and behaved along this road. This information was supplemented by data derived from interviews with the families of suicide bombers who died carrying out their attacks.

The psychological makeup of suicide terroirists is put into context in other chapters of the book to provide an inclusive understanding of this phenomenon, which takes into account public atmosphere and the ways in which terrorist groups influence the suicide candidates. The book examines the characteristics of suicide terrorists in light of the most influential theories of suicide and offers a critical and innovative analysis of current explanation of suicide terrorism.