Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2012 The Impact of Sincerity of Terrorists on Committing Terrorist Activities in Turkey Ahmet Turer Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd Part of the Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration Commons © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/2875 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Impact of Sincerity of Terrorists on Committing Terrorist Activities in Turkey A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University By Ahmet Türer B.S., Turkish National Police Academy, 1995 M.S., University of North Texas, 2003 Chair: John D. Reitzel, Associate Professor, L. Douglas Wilder School Government and Public Affairs Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia May, 2012 ©Ahmet Türer 2012 All Rights Reserved i Acknowledgement I wish to thank several people who helped me during this tedious journey. ii Table of Contents List of Figures ................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii Abstract ........................................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1 ............................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 Terrorism ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Terrorism in Turkey .................................................................................................................... 2 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................................... 4 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................... 5 Research Question..................................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 2 .......................................................................................................................... 13 Literature Review ............................................................................................................ 13 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 13 Defining Terrorism .................................................................................................................... 13 Violence and Use of Force ................................................................................................... 18 Characteristics of Terrorism ..................................................................................................... 19 Violence................................................................................................................................. 19 Political and Ideological Agendas ...................................................................................... 20 Effects of Terrorist Violence ............................................................................................... 21 Atmosphere of Chaos and Fear .......................................................................................... 23 Conflict between the Society and the Governments .................................................................. 23 Secrecy ...................................................................................................................................... 26 iii Unexpected Nature of Terrorism .............................................................................................. 28 Workers' Party of Kurdistan PKK ............................................................................................. 31 Turkish Hezbollah ..................................................................................................................... 32 Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front DHKP/C ........................................................ 33 Radical Terrorism ..................................................................................................................... 36 Karl Marx, 1844 ........................................................................................................................ 37 Dictatorships in Muslim Countries ........................................................................................... 39 Understanding Terrorism before Developing Coping Strategies ............................................. 41 The Modus Operandi of Recruitment: The Dynamic Terrorist Recruitment Model ................. 41 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 45 Chapter 3 .......................................................................................................................... 47 Research Design and Methodology ................................................................................ 47 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 47 Mixed Crime Theories ............................................................................................................... 48 Content Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 50 Data Collection ......................................................................................................................... 51 Hypotheses ................................................................................................................................ 52 Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 53 Variables ............................................................................................................................... 53 Dependent Variable .......................................................................................................... 53 Independent Variables ...................................................................................................... 55 Sincerity Level .................................................................................................................. 55 Recruitment and Group Related Variables ....................................................................... 56 Socio-demographics .......................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 4 .......................................................................................................................... 59 iv Statistical Analysis ........................................................................................................... 59 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 59 Table 2 Descriptive Statistics .......................................................................................... 59 Characteristics of the Terrorist Group ..................................................................................... 60 Statistical Analyses .................................................................................................................... 62 Table 3 Regression Analysis of Terrorist Activity Index ............................................. 63 Results ................................................................................................................................... 64 Chapter 5 .......................................................................................................................... 66 Discussion, Implications, & Recommendations ............................................................ 66 Summary and Discussion of Key Findings ................................................................................ 66 A Theory of Terrorist Recruitment and Attachment in Turkey.................................................. 66 Implications, Limitations and Future Research ........................................................................ 68 Policy Implications ................................................................................................................ 68 References ......................................................................................................................... 71 Appendix 1 ........................................................................................................................ 82 Vita ...................................................................................................................................