Sponsoring Violence: A Typology of Constituent Support for Terrorist Organizations

Terrorist organizations rely on support from their constituencies to survive. Constituent support can be categorized by constituents' behavior (active or passive) and the inducement strategy used by terrorist organizations to obtain it (enticements or coercion). These two dimensions overlap, producing a typology of constituent support for terrorist organizations. Four types of support are thus identified: impelled (active and enticed), auspicious (passive and enticed), compelled (active and coerced), and deterred (passive and coerced). Although types often co-exist and transform from one to another over time, each is a distinct lens to view constituent support and can improve upon state counterterrorism strategies.