Iranian State Strength & Domestic Terrorism: How Iran Came to be the Cool Spot in a Hotbed of Terrorism

Abstract

This study focuses examines the relationship between domestic terrorism and state strength within in Iran from 1978 to 2010., and It seeks to understand what the specific factors are that are most influentialimpactful in determining the ebb and flow of terrorism. Despite Iran’s position in a region fraught with terrorism, Iran has experienced very low levels of terrorist activity, and yet the literature focusing on terrorism in Iran is largely absent. In order to gain a better understanding of how the strength of the state impacts domestic terrorism, the this study used utilizes various dimensions of state strength the literature available to find key determinants of state strength highlighted in the literature, including economic data and coercive capacity. In addition, I also consider several alternative explanations of terrorism, such as authoritarianism and historical and/or major event, in the context of Iranian domestic terrorism. as well as key causes of terrorism. The study focused on eight different years in which terrorist activity was high as well as low and then compared economic data, the Freedom House scores, historical and/or major events, and the state’s coercive capacity for each of the years to determine the strength of the state and how it compares to the level of terror activity. The study showsanalysis reveals that the economy, Iranian’s’ confidence in the state, and historical and/or major events are most significant in determining heightened the high levels of terrorism that Iran experienced during this period.