College of Sciences Distinguished Speaker Series
Güneş Murat Tezcür, Ph.D.
Jalal Talabani Chair of Kurdish Political Studies
University of Central Florida
What do Terrorists and Freedom Fighters Have in Common?
Why ordinary men and women risk their lives to engage in acts of political violence? The frequency and intensity of civil wars and acts of terrorism in contemporary times make this question a central concern to global peace and security. While some individuals pursuing violence are motivated by pecuniary concerns, for many others joining an armed organization is a self-sacrificial behavior entailing life-threatening risks.
This presentation focuses on the latter type and builds on insights from multiple disciplinary approaches to conceptualize the decision to fight as a form of altruistic punishment. It draws on original empirical research and provides examples of individuals fighting for a secular ethno-nationalist insurgency as well as committing violence in the name of religion and far-right ideologies.
For more information and to RSVP, www.sciences.ucf.edu/dss
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