Punitive government responses can reward terrorists by confirming their worldview.

Evidence

Some terrorists become disillusioned when anticipated social and political changes do not occur, but others continue despite the absence of positive external reinforcements. Given the small numbers of people required for the implementation of a terrorist strategy and a ready availability of recruits, terrorism can show remarkable persistence. A punitive government response may confirm terrorist expectations of coercive “enemy” behavior, provide a needed reward of attention and publicity, and generate resentment not only among terrorists but among the larger political or ethnic minorities from which they sprang. The government may wish, instead, to avoid creating obstacles to the reintegration of dissidents into society. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 4162

Categorization

• DEFINE: Explains the reinforcement mechanism by which state crackdowns can backfire and harden rather than deter.
• ADDENDUM: Connects to the sacrifice essay’s theme of how dramatic acts shore up identity and group solidarity against state power.