Framing Violence: Rhetoric and Goal Structures of Shia and Salafi Terrorist Organizations

Abstract

ABSTRACT Though existing research on religiously motivated terrorism has examined the characteristics of groups across religious traditions, very few have disaggregated their studies to the level of sect. Sectarian differences in conceptualizing world views and group membership may have a substantial impact on the framing rhetoric and behaviors of religiously motivated terrorist groups. This study investigates whether Islamist terrorist groups belonging to different sects display different organizational goals and mobilization and recruitment strategies. This study employs a text analysis of over 400 news articles for 40 Salafi and Shia organizations to analyze rhetorical patterns in diagnostic, prognostic, and motivational frames. The results suggest that the rhetoric, goal structures, and collective action frames terrorist groups employ differ systematically based on sect affiliation. These results speak to the importance of ideology and religious doctrine in influencing the threats, the recommended actions, and the motivational methods of terrorist organizations. Though these ideologies do not necessarily spark violence, they do drive variation in goal structures of those groups who use violence to affect political change.