Group cohesiveness shifts terrorist goals from political change toward self-maintenance

Evidence

The consequences of strong cohesiveness and pressure to conform in terrorist groups are numerous. Naturally strong affective ties are formed among members, so that the dependence with which most members entered deepens. The rewards that members seek probably become more “interpersonal” than “task-environmental” (Collins & Guetzkow, 1964, pp. 74–80). That is, the approval of other group members becomes more important than the achievement of group goals. Approval is awarded not only for actions that move the group toward its political goals but also for conformity and correct ideological thinking. Under these conditions the goal of the terrorist organization may become selfmaintenance more than the transformation of the political system (as happens with other political organizations; see Wilson, 1973). Members are now motivated by the desire to keep the group together. For example, terrorist organizations emerged from student movements in part because some activists were unwilling to see the group dissolved. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4147

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Groups internalize external threat as an oath to preserve cohesion after danger recedes — Fredric Jameson, Marxism and Form, 509