Failed militant campaigns tend toward escalation that alienates sympathizers

Evidence

Terrorists face the difficult task of calibrating the level of their violence so as not to alienate their sympathizers. This is not easy to do when terrorist activities raise moral qualms in partisans and can make their lives more miserable. The natural tendency in the face of failed attempts is to escalate the level of violence, which only makes it more socially alienating. However, a clever campaign in moral disengagement can get supporters to accept extreme terrorist acts as morally justified (Sarma, 2010). — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2259

Categorization

• XREF: The escalation-entrapment dynamic echoes how moral disengagement is needed precisely because violence that alienates would-be supporters demands stronger justification.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2259