Abstract
- Structural theories of terrorism often revolve around factors like the nature of a state’s political regime, economic development, depth of civil liberties, strength of government institutions, and social fragmentation. Often overlooked is the issue of legitimacy. Ehud Sprinzak (1991) first spoke the relationship between legitimacy and terrorism to explain why mobilized groups transition from political opposition movements to terrorism. This study moves to the next level of analysis by assessing the relationship between a state’s legitimacy and the occurrence of domestic terrorism. The data suggest that legitimacy is a robust predictor of terrorism and merits further investigation as a causal variable.