The Motivations of Islamic Martyrs: Applying the Collective Effort Model

This paper examines the motivations of Islamic martyrs through the Collective Effort Model (CEM). The CEM postulates that individuals work hard in a group only if they believe their work, input, or efforts will help attain their individually valued outcomes. In addition, people will work even harder as a group if they have close affinities with that group or if they are persuaded that their effort will be recognized (Karau & Williams, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 65(4):681–706, 1993). In the context of this analysis, it seems appropriate to apply the CEM to the motivations of Islamic martyrs to engage in suicide bombing as one can easily see the effects of their own efforts on their group’s organizational goals. Determining the motivations of Islamic martyrs may also help us identify the specific recruiting strategies used by terrorist organizations looking to acquire followers for their cause.