Suicide attacks correlate with and spread through visible self-sacrifice cycles

Evidence

But, if the gains from even successful surprise are less desired than no war at all, there is no “fundamental” basis for an attack by either side. Nevertheless, it looks as though a modest temptation on each side to sneak in a first blow—a temptation too small by itself to motivate an attack—might become compounded through a process of interacting expectations, with additional motive for attack being produced by successive cycles of “He thinks we think he thinks we think…he thinks we think he’ll attack; so he thinks we shall; so he will; so we must.” — Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, 462 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Exposure to intergroup conflict determines a population’s mix of self-interest and self-sacrifice.; Social mechanisms intensify only when applied reflexively to themselves; Drone warfare adopts assassination ethics while refusing assassination’s self-sacrifice (+3 more)

Related

• Small first-strike temptations can compound into attack through interacting expectations alone (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Exposure to intergroup conflict determines a population’s mix of self-interest and self-sacrifice. #expands (0.82)
• Drone warfare adopts assassination ethics while refusing assassination’s self-sacrifice #complicates (0.80)
• Small first-strike temptations can compound into attack through interacting expectations alone #expands (0.78) — Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, 462
• Social mechanisms intensify only when applied reflexively to themselves #expands (0.75)