THE POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, AND SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF TERRORISM: A MULTIDIMENSIONAL CAUSAL ANALYSIS

Abstract

Terrorism continues to pose significant challenges to communities and governments worldwide, driven by a mix of political, economic, and social pressures that shape structural conditions across societies. This paper examines the political, economic, and social drivers of terrorism, focusing on factors such as political marginalization, human rights abuses, poverty, educational access, religious extremism, and social inequality, and argues that these factors rarely operate in isolation. Instead, they intersect in ways that deepen frustration, heighten perceptions of injustice, and create environments in which radicalization becomes more likely. Drawing on diverse academic studies and real-world cases, the paper illustrates how weak political institutions, economic hardship, and social exclusion create conditions conducive to terrorist recruitment, particularly among disillusioned youth, and shows how both state and non-state actors may exploit these vulnerabilities for strategic gain. The study extends existing scholarship by presenting a structured, multidimensional framework that not only categorizes terrorism’s drivers but also demonstrates how they reinforce one another. Through this approach, it moves beyond descriptive analysis toward integrated, theory-informed insight. Ultimately, the study contends that terrorism cannot be attributed to a single cause and that mitigating its persistence requires inclusive, long-term policies that address both structural conditions and the appeal of extremist ideologies.