Analysis of Al-Qaeda Terrorist Attacks to Investigate Rational Action

Many studies have been conducted to demonstrate the collective rationality of traditional terrorist groups; this study seeks to expand this and apply collective rationality to Islamic terrorist groups. A series of statistical analyses were conducted on terrorist attacks carried out by Al-Qaeda and affiliated terrorist organization; these were then compared to two more conventional terrorist groups: the Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). When viewed through the context of the groups’ various motivations and objectives, the results of these analyses demonstrates collective rationality for those terrorist groups examined.