Education a Dark Force? : A Qualitative Investigation of Education and Domestic Terrorism in the Middle East North Africa

Abstract: Extant research on terrorism has predominantly examined conditions associated with transnational terror. Considerably less is known about home-grown or domestic terrorism despite its accounting for much of the non-state violence seen in the international system. While some have examined the relationship between education and political violence, less has been done to investigate qualitatively the relationship between education and domestic terrorism, particularly under the condition of corruption. Comparing the cases of Morocco, Libya, Jordan and Egypt between 1970-2010, I find that increases in education bear little connection with levels of domestic terror. However, empirics suggest that increases in education may play a role in individual abilities to recognise and react against, sometimes violently, perceived state corruption. Findings suggest a need for further disaggregated data on the perpetrators of terrorist violence to better understand the complex relationship between education and domestic terror.