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The War on Terror: A Data-Driven Learning Guide
Goal & Concept
Goal
The goal of this exercise is to consider the impact of the War on Terror in the global arena. We will also learn more about terrorism, generally. Crosstabulations and frequency tables will be used.
Concept
Terrorism can be defined as shocking acts of violence undertaken for the purpose of altering a government's policies. The violence usually targets those who do not actually have the personal authority to alter or enforce governmental policy.
Terrorist acts, because they are perpetrated on regular citizens, are meant to create fear or anxiety among the people, who then put pressure on a government to change its policies toward the terror organization.
The War on Terror is part of the United States' response to the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center. The official objectives of the 2001 War on Terrorism are to counter terrorist threats, prevent terrorist acts and curb the influence of terrorist organizations.
Examples of research questions on the War on Terror include:
- Have terrorist attacks increased or decreased since the War on Terror began?
- Which regions of the world experience the most terrorist attacks?
- What are common targets of terrorist attacks?
- How do governments respond to terrorist attacks?
- Who is responsible for terrorist attacks?
CITATION: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research. War on Terror: A Data-Driven Learning Guide. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2009-04-16. Doi:10.3886/terrorism
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