Suicide Terrorism as a Multidimensional Process: A Complex Relational Approach

Although suicide terrorism is a complex and multidimensional concept, the extant literature examines the phenomenon from limited aspects and on an individual basis. This paper argues that the complex relational processes approach developed by Stacey (2001) can be a useful framework for understanding suicide terrorism. The complex relational processes approach asserts that certain behavior patterns emerge through iterative relationships people develop at different ontological levels, i.e., within, between and among human bodies, simultaneously. If suicide terrorism is examined within this framework, the entire process constructing terrorist behaviour at different ontological levels can be better understood and more precise reaction strategies can be developed.