This paper examines ideology and motivation in terrorism through a psychological lens, responding to a debate about the analytic value of ideology. Drawing on Peters’ concept of reason-guided, socially embedded action, and integrating rule-governed behaviour and Relational Frame Theory, it argues that terrorist behaviour is shaped by verbally mediated rules rather than simple causal mechanisms. This perspective aligns partially with social-movement framing theory, but highlights individual level processes. Conceptualising ideology as a dynamic process of rule governance offers a workable framework for understanding terrorist motivation and may help address the low base-rate problem in terrorism research.
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